PGN Oct. 13-19, 2017 by The Philadelphia Gay News

pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976

Vol. 41 No. 41 Oct. 13-19, 2017

Dept. of Justice rolls back LGBT rights PAGE 2

Family Portrait: Séamus Egan Tyler still walks the Walk

HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM

LGBT History Month

Salutes to Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, Kay Lahusen and ally John Lewis

PAGE 35

PAGES 14, 15, 19

LGBT flicks take center stage at Philadelphia Film Festival PAGE 29

Sheriff’s directive aims to advance trans safety By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com A n ew d i r e c t iv e f r o m the Philadelphia Sheriff ’s Department strives to ensure the safety of transgender individuals. Sheriff Jewell Williams signed “Interaction with Transgender Individuals” during a press conference Oct. 6 at City Hall, making his the first sheriff ’s department in Pennsylvania to implement such a policy. The order establishes guidelines for Sheriff’s Department employees to interact with transgender individuals during apprehension, arrest, custody, housing and transport. It requires officers to address individuals by their chosen name, rather than the name

listed on their government ID, and by their chosen pronouns. Additionally, it requires that all personnel, “when uncertain,” ask the individual which pronouns are preferred. Trans-identifying inmates and arrestees will fill out a “Transgender/Gender-Variant Statement of Search” form, which includes questions about gender identity and whether they prefer to be searched by a male or female officer while in custody. At last Friday’s event, Deputy Sheriff Dante Austin thanked the members of the LGBT community who helped move the directive forward. Among those in attendance were Commission on LGBT Affairs members Deja Lynn Alvarez, Barrett Marshal PAGE 24 and Kae

By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com

EYEWITNESSES: Sheriff Jewell Williams signs the “Interaction with Transgender Individuals” directive Oct. 6 in out Judge Dan Anders’ courtroom as staff, advocates and proponents look on. The directive sets protocol for interaction with trans individuals by Sheriff’s Department officers. The directive went into effect immediately. Photo: Scott A. Drake

OutFest proves strong, despite rain and protests By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com Despite sporadic rain showers, more than 25,000 people attended Outfest Oct. 9, said Philly Pride Presents Executive Director Franny Price. “The rain didn’t dampen anybody’s spirits,” she said. Price added that while 174 groups registered to have a table for the 27th-annual event, only 28 did not show up. “I’m sure there were some people who woke up, saw rain and went back to sleep,” she added. “But all of the performers showed up as well. Everybody was just wonderful.” However, Price also noted what she called the “worst-ever” anti-LGBT protesters. She said they were initially in front of Mazzoni Center’s Washington West Project Rapid Testing Clinic but the police asked them to move across the street to not interfere with conversations between workers and clients. Officer Troy Brown told PGN in an email that no arrests were made. “To sit there and see the signs and hear the things they were saying — about con-

Boxers accepts $47,500 to settle federal case against city

THE REV. JEFFREY JORDAN OF WHOSOEVER MCC DELIVERED A MESSAGE OF CHRISTIAN LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE TO PROTESTER’S CRIES OF HATE AND CONDEMNATION. MORE OUTFEST PHOTOS ON PAGES 12-13. Photo: Scott A. Drake

doms; they had signs that said ‘Got AIDS yet?’ or ‘Go to Hell Homosexuals and Muslims’ — was so terrible,” Price said.

Conversely, Price said the onstage entertainment was uplifting. Among the PAGE 12 highlights were the

Boxers PHL, a Gayborhood sports bar that claimed anti-LGBT bias motivated city officials to order the removal of its roof deck, recently agreed on a $47,500 city payment to settle its federal lawsuit. On Sept. 26, the case was officially resolved after a settlement conference with U.S. Magistrate Judge Marilyn Heffley. “It was in the parties’ best interests to settle on mutually agreeable terms,” said Mike Dunn, a spokesperson for the Kenney administration. Wally Zimolong, an attorney for Boxers, said his clients are happy with the settlement. “We always prefer to resolve these matters amicably,” Zimolong said. “And that’s what happened in this case. Both parties reached an amicable resolution. Hopefully, the city will improve its practices, and other business owners won’t find themselves in a similar situation in the future.” Located at 1330 Walnut St., the popular LGBT venue’s owners claimed they were treated in a homophobic manner when city officials ordered the building’s roof deck removed. Boxers filed suit in April, contending that non-LGBT bars in the area weren’t subjected to similar treatment. Numerous city officials were named as defendants, including city Department of Licenses and Inspections Commissioner David Perri and various members of the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment. Prior to the settlement, city attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez to toss out the case as meritless. The request was pending when the settlement was announced. n

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

Resource listings 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

• COLOURS: coloursorganization.org, 215832-0100

• Congreso de Latinos Unidos;

216 W. Somerset St.; 215-763-8870

• GALAEI: 149 W. Susquehanna Ave.; 267-457-3912, www. galaei.org. Spanish/ English

• Health Center No. 2, 1720 S. Broad

St.; 215-685-1821

• Mazzoni Center:

1348 Bainbridge St.; 215-563-0652, mazzon-

icenter.org

• Philadelphia FIGHT: 1233 Locust

St.; 215-985-4448, www.fight.org

• Washington West Project of Mazzoni Center:

1201 Locust St.; 215985-9206

• Transgender Health Action Coalition: 215-7321207

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

DOJ issues ‘license to discriminate,’ rolls back trans protections By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com The long-feared federal “license to discriminate” surfaced last week, one day after a major federal reversal on trans rights. Attorney General Jeff Sessions last Friday issued a “Memorandum on Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty,” widely viewed as a target on LGBT people. In a statement, the DOJ said it identified 20 “high-level principles that administrative agencies and executive departments can put to practical use to ensure the religious freedoms of Americans are lawfully protected.” LGBT advocates said the guidance could allow federal employees and contractors to deny services to LGBT people based on their individual religious beliefs, a license also given to federally funded agencies. “The guidance is meant to ‘protect’ the anti-LGBTQ child-welfare worker who’s opposed to placing young people in foster care with a lesbian couple,” National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey said in a statement. “It’s meant to ‘protect’ the transphobic shelter worker who refuses to give a transgender person a place to sleep. It’s meant to ‘protect’ the anti-Semitic restaurant owner who doesn’t

want to serve a Jewish customer. It’s meant to ‘protect’ the pharmacist who wants to make decisions for others and refuses to administer birth control. The list goes on.” “Hiding behind ‘religious freedom,’ this dangerous guidance jeopardizes the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, particularly the LGBTQ community,” Philadelphia’s Office of LGBT Affairs and Commission on Human Relations said in a joint statement. “Freedom of religion does not and should not ever give anyone the right to harm others or violate the rights of marginalized populations.” The memo came the same day as a directive from the Department of Health and Human Services that broadened the criteria for organizations to opt out of providing contraceptive care to employees, and a day after a DOJ statement that trans workers are not covered by nondiscrimination protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a departure from the previous administration’s position. “These attacks are aimed at systematically eroding the legal equality and even the basic dignity of LGBTQ people, and they are a devastating step back from ensuring equal rights for all Americans,” the Office of LGBT Affairs and PCHR added. n

Toomey-led resolution condemns Chechen violence By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com A committee of the U.S. Senate last week passed a resolution led by Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania that condemns the violence and persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya. The Foreign Relations Committee unanimously adopted the measure Oct. 5, and it is now awaiting a full Senate vote. The resolution calls on Chechen officials to “cease the abduction, detention and torture of individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and hold accountable those involved in perpetrating such abuses.” Additionally, it demands “the release of individuals wrongfully detained, and identify those individuals whose involvement in such violence qualifies for the imposition of sanctions under the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 or the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is responsible for moving the bill forward for a full Senate vote, did not respond to a request for comment. A companion bill in the House passed June 27 with 85 cosponsors, including 21 Republicans. Toomey introduced the resolution June 29 with Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). It has 44 cosponsors, including

13 Republicans. Sen. Bob Casey (D) of Pennsylvania was among the cosponsors. In a statement, Toomey said he hopes “the entire Senate approves this bill in short order. The ‘honor killings’ in Chechnya of individuals who are or are perceived to be gay are not only abhorrent, but they are serious human-rights violations. This situation is unacceptable and Russia must act to protect the human rights of all its citizens.” Over the past year, reports have surfaced of Chechen authorities running six secret prisons for LGBT men, at which they have been tortured into outing others in their community. Authorities allegedly rounded up and detained more than 100 men, and more than 20 have been reported dead. Toomey has previously voted against a number of LGBT measures, such as those that would have given same-sex partners of veterans access to medical benefits and a measure to protect LGBT students in public schools from discrimination. He also publicly denounced the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision on marriage equality. Toomey did vote in 2013 in favor of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, after first offering an amendment to broaden religious exemptions, which did not pass. He also supported the 2010 repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military’s ban on openly gay service members. n

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News & Opinion

7 — Obituary: John Oates 10 — Creep of the Week Editorial 11 — Transmissions Street Talk 20 — News Briefing

Columns

9 — Thinking Queerly: The power of touch

Arts & Culture 29 34 31 35 32 36

OUT AT OKTOBERFEST: DVLF’s monthly Out Night Out was infused with German culture last week. The Oct. 4 event was held at Brauhaus Schmitz’s Oktoberfest celebration, a multi-day German festival at the 23rd Street Armory. The party featured traditional German food, drinks, décor and dancing, as well as opportunities to network with local LGBTs. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Hope was a common theme at this year’s annual LGBT History Month flag-raising.

PGN 505 S. Fourth St. Philadelphia, PA 19147-1506 Phone: 215-625-8501 Fax: 215-925-6437 E-mail: pgn@epgn.com Web: www.epgn.com

Publisher Mark Segal (ext. 204) mark@epgn.com

— Feature: LGBTthemed flicks at film festival — Comics — Scene in Philly — Family Portrait — Out & About — Q Puzzle

Editor

Advertising Sales Prab Sandhu (ext. 212) prab@epgn.com

Staff Writers Jeremy Rodriguez (ext. 215) jeremy@epgn.com

Kyle Lamb (ext. 201) kyle@epgn.com

Larry Nichols (ext. 213) larry@epgn.com Writer-at-Large Timothy Cwiek (ext. 208) timothy@epgn.com

~ Statement from Philadelphia FIGHT on the closing of the Y-HEP drop-in clinic, page 8

Creep of the Week: Jeff Mateer is Trump’s nominee for judge, but he has already won the distinction of Creep.

Jen Colletta (ext. 206) jen@epgn.com

“Our continued financial support and strategic oversight reaffirm our commitment to developing youth-friendly spaces throughout our Philadelphia FIGHT locations.”

Office Manager/ Classifieds Don Pignolet (ext. 200) don@epgn.com

New Orleans is easy to fall for, even when it’s not Mardi Gras or Southern Decadence.

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

Enrique Iglesias comes to the Wells Fargo Center this weekend for a steamy session.

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LOCAL PGN

ON THE MARCH: Naiymah Sanchez, transgender-advocacy coordinator for American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, rallied participants at the annual Philly Trans* March Oct. 7 at Kahn Park before the group set off throughout Center City. The event was hosted by Trans Equity Project, a program of GALAEI. Many marchers wore black, in solidarity with racial-justice advocates and to represent the trans lives lost to violence. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Bebashi launches trans-resource program By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com A local health and social-services agency is opening its doors — figuratively and literally — to trans communities. Bebashi: Transition to Hope is gearing up to launch Trans Necessities, a resource program for people in transition. “Our nickname for the program at Bebashi is ‘The Closet’ because it will be a closet of accessories, clothing, wigs, binding materials and things of that nature to assist our clients in their transitions,” explained Brenda Alexander, communications specialist at Bebashi. Alexander noted that some trans clients expressed a need for affordable, fashionable clothing, as well as binding materials and prosthetics — which she said can run upwards of $200. A Bebashi work-study student, who identifies as trans, developed the idea for the new resource program to meet those and other needs. The organization partnered with a number of companies that will be donating binding materials and prosthetics every six months and is also accepting donations for everything from clothes to makeup. There will be no eligibility requirements for Bebashi’s trans clients to access the resources. Getting the word out about donations will be among the aims for a kickoff event this weekend. OUTreach will be held 2:30-5:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Calvary Center for Culture and Development, 801 S. 48th St. The event will include presentations on sexual health, aging, reproductive issues, breast

and chest health and mental health. Food and drinks will be provided by Starbucks, Blackbird Pizza and Crust Bakery, and guests can enter to win raffle prizes from Passional Boutique and The Breast Form Store. HIV and STI testing will also be provided on site. Several local barbers and hair stylists will offer free services at the event, and Alexander said Bebashi plans to develop ongoing relationships with them for additional programming. Alexander noted Bebashi intends to expand Trans Necessities with a support group in the future. “The trans clients that we have right now attend groups under other umbrellas, like HIV/AIDS, other STIs or general counseling, but we’re going to work with the case-management team to develop a trans-specific support program,” she said. “And we’re always open to hearing what our clients need as far as mental-health services.” Those and other services will soon be available in Bebashi’s new clinic, which will be located next door to its current space on Spring Garden Street. “We just rented out that building and are in the process of opening a free clinic,” Alexander said, noting medical and mental-health professionals will see clients for everything from HIV screening to mental-health services to general-health issues. No medical insurance will be required. The clinic is expected to open later this fall. For more information about Bebashi, visit www.bebashi.org. n

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

LOCAL PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

Event photography for your gala or holiday party Scott A. Drake Photos scottdrakephotos@gmail.com

HISTORY AND HOPE: LGBTQ Home for Hope was among the local organizations spotlighted at the eighth-annual LGBT History Month flag-raising ceremony Oct. 6 at City Hall. The event marked the first-ever raising of the “More Color, More Pride” flag, which includes black and brown stripes in advocacy for racial equality. Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus performed, and the ceremony included remarks from city and community leaders. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Oral arguments in Morris 911 case set for January By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com

OPEN HOUSES Monday, Oct. 9

9 am • Lower School 12:30 pm • Middle/Upper School

Wednesday, Nov. 1 8:30 am • Middle/Upper School 9 am • Lower School

“We were looking for a school with a strong academic program where our son would be challenged and also nurtured. We like that Friends’ Central has small class sizes, that the faculty really get to know the students and see how they grow, and that both sports and extracurricular activities, like the plays and the arts groups, are valued and supported aspects of the student experience. Our son has had great teachers who inspire him to do his very best every day.” – Grade 10 Parent

Honoring the Individual Since 1845 • friendscentral.org

stopped short of agreeing that it must be produced to open-records requesters. PGN attorney Justin F. Robinette argued Oral arguments will be held in January that if the D.A.’s Office won’t produce the on PGN’s open-records request for 911 transcript to open-records requesters, it’s recordings relating to the Nizah Morris case possible there are additional Morris recordfrom the Philadelphia District Attorney’s ings at the office being impermissibly withheld. Office, it was announced this week. But the D.A. staffer assured Common Morris was a transgender woman of color found with a fatal head wound in 2002, Pleas Judge Abbe F. Fletman that the office shortly after accepting a Center City “cour- wasn’t withholding any Morris 911 recordtesy ride” from Philadelphia police. The ings from the public. Robinette said the police department lost D.A.’s Office continues to investigate her its Morris homicide homicide. file and the public has Shortly after Shortly after Morris’ a right to know the Morris’ death, a pri- death, a private citizen extent of the D.A.’s vate citizen gave PGN Morris recordings. 911 recordings relat- gave PGN 911 recordRobinette also ing to the courtesy ings relating to the cour- requested “limited ride. PGN compiled discovery” from the the recordings into a tesy ride. The recordings D.A.’s Office, to help nine-page transcript. clarify the D.A.’s The recordings con- contradict police position on PGN’s tradict police accounts accounts that Morris transcript as a public that Morris could navrecord. igate on her own when could navigate on her Fletman denied the accepting the courtesy own when accepting the request but said both ride. The recordings sides may submit also show that pass- courtesy ride. briefs on the subject ersby found Morris’ body within minutes of the ride’s conclu- and that oral arguments will be held. PGN’s brief is due Dec. 8 and the D.A.’s sion. PGN contends the D.A.’s copy of PGN’s brief is due Jan. 8. Oral arguments will be transcript must be produced to open-re- held 10 a.m. Jan. 19 in Courtroom 426 of cords requesters upon payment of a reason- City Hall. Outside the courtroom, Robinette reiterable copying fee. At an Oct. 10 court proceeding, a D.A ated his plea for transparency in the Morris staffer acknowledged PGN’s transcript but case. n

LOCAL PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

Obituary John Oates, registered nurse, 52 By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com John Oates could be described as a true renaissance man. A jack of many trades, a music collector, nurse and part of the inspiration for Philly AIDS Thrift, he kept busy. Oates died Oct. 2 at age 52. His partner of 32 years, Tom Brennan, said Oates was “brilliant at one million things.” Oates was a registered nurse but he also held certifications in several other areas, including wastewater management, respiratory therapy and paralegal. “It was a past time,” Brennan said of his partner’s numerous certifications. “He was the most disciplined, hardworking guy you could ever imagine,” Brennan added. “He would work 100hour weeks and not even think about it.” While Brennan said Oates was “the last person in the world to get a cell phone,” that did not stop him from being techsavvy, especially when it came to his two calico cats, Patches and Scratches. “Just in the last year when he was traveling — he hardly texted at all but the only texts were, ‘How are the cats?’” Brennan said Oates was “funny and crazy” and loved studying, school and

learning. He even received scholarships to Valley Forge Military Academy & College and the University of Pennsylvania, the latter of which he left after one year as a student. “He was a wild child. He just wanted to do his own thing,” Brennan said. Oates also loved music and blackand-white movies. His passion for music extended into his hobbies. Brennan called Oates a “world-league record collector” with a collection spanning from his early childhood. “There aren’t many people in the world that have a larger record collection than him. His knowledge of American popular music was infinite and beyond your wildest dreams.” Among Oates’ favorite artists were Lena Horne, Fran Warren, June Christy,

Jo Stafford, Dakota Staton and Connie Haines. “Fifteen years ago, he had 1,000 copies of a CD made of rare Connie Haines vinyl because he felt she was neglected and nothing was available of her on CD — a labor of love,” Brennan said. “He probably broke even at best but that wasn’t the point. He just wanted to preserve a mostly forgotten artist.” In addition to his private music collection, Oates took his love for music into the public. Brennan said Oates had “hundreds” of friends at various bars who would remember him for his “shows.” “Any piano bar in town, John would be there,” Brennan said. “John knew the lyrics to every popular song from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. He knew popular music up until the day he died — all of

the showtunes. He had a deep, booming voice and he was not the best singer in the world but he was certainly the most enthusiastic and passionate singer you could ever meet.” Oates would also interact with the audience during these performances. “He would literally [stand up] and say, ‘What song do you want to hear?’ And he would sing it out loud, every lyric. He would even go up to the person who [requested the song], kneel down in front of them and sing right to them.” Oates’ appetite for music brought him to thrift stores, which ultimately inspired Brennan’s love for second-hand shops. Brennan went on to cofound and manage Philly AIDS Thrift. “This store wouldn’t exist without John, or at least I wouldn’t have been part of it,” Brennan said. “He had that influence on me.” Brennan also noted that one of the shop’s rooms, the John Calvin Oates Music and Movies Room, was named after his late partner in honor of his love for thrift stores and popular culture. “John was definitely larger than life,” Brennan said. In addition to Brennan, Oates is survived by hundreds of friends. n

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

HEALTH AND WELLNESS DIRECTORY rev. dr. Nadine

Rosechild Sullivan, ph.d.

Spiritual Counseling drsullivan@rosechild.org

215.704.4264

www.rosechild.org

Spirituality • Sexuality • Relationships • Self-Esteem

LOCAL PGN

Aetna offers emergency relief to victims of HIV-privacy breach By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Aetna customers in need of prompt financial assistance due to alleged HIV-privacy breaches caused by Aetna may apply for emergency relief, the health insurer recently announced. The relief program was launched after a mass mailing sponsored by Aetna allegedly violated the HIV-privacy rights of about 12,000 customers. Envelopes with large, transparent windows were used in the mailing, making it possible to see someone’s HIV-related information without opening the envelope. A third-party vendor who handled the July 2017 mailing on behalf of Aetna hasn’t been publicly identified. Assisting Aetna in administering the relief program are AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, based in Philadelphia, and Legal Action Center, based in New York City. Hundreds of Aetna customers from 30 states complained about the alleged privacy breaches. In August, a class-action suit was filed against Aetna, seeking more than $5 million in damages. “The AIDS Law Project and the Legal Action Center worked with Aetna to develop this [relief] program,” said Ronda B. Goldfein, executive director of the law project. “We are processing the requests and forwarding them to Aetna. Aetna already has compensated a person who needed to be relocated due to the breach.” A federal class-action suit against Aetna will move forward, despite the relief program, Goldfein added. “I think that people who were harmed by the breach generally understand this [relief] program is limited to those who have an immediate financial need caused by the breach,” Goldfein contin-

ued. “The law project has heard from a handful of people whose circumstances would make them eligible for immediate financial assistance.” Goldfein alluded to the user-friendly aspect of the relief program. “We intentionally did not build in a lot of rules and regulations on the provision [for relief]. The goal was to make immediate relief available. We’re letting the situation dictate what happens next.” New York residents who require emergency relief may contact the Legal Action Center at 212243-1313 or lacinfo@lac.org. All other affected individuals may contact the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania at 215-587-9377 or aetnaclass@aidslawpa.org. Additionally, affected individuals may contact Aetna directly for emergency relief. “We will continue to vigorously prosecute the class-action lawsuit [against Aetna] to ensure that the thousands of individuals harmed by this privacy breach receive justice,” said Sally Friedman, legal director of Legal Action Center. “Aetna’s mailing caused serious harm and forever altered class members’ relationships with family, friends and neighbors.” In a news release, Aetna said it wasn’t acknowledging any wrongdoing by launching the relief program. Counseling services will be available to Aetna customers and family members affected by the alleged breaches, according to the news release. “Determinations of requests for financial reimbursement, payments or counseling services will be made at Aetna’s sole and complete discretion,” the release stated. Participants of the program will not forfeit their right to pursue legal claims against Aetna, the release added. n

FIGHT closes youth drop-in center, provides funding for outside services By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com A local HIV/AIDS service organization recently shut down its youth drop-in facilities. In August, Philadelphia FIGHT shuttered Y-HEP’s (Youth Health Empowerment Project) Drop-In Center to transition participants to other services. FIGHT’s Y-HEP sponsored a drop-in center since 2011 and has provided necessities to at-risk youth, including food, toiletries, clothing, laundry services and a shower. Though the drop-in center was discontinued, the Y-HEP Health Center will continue to provide primary-care services, sexual and reproductive-health services and other counseling services. A FIGHT spokesperson told PGN the organization will provide funding to “four specialized agencies,” including The Attic Youth Center, COLOURS, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Methodist Services. The spokesperson

declined to comment on funding specifics. FIGHT finalized the latter partnership last week. According to the statement, “Methodist Services will focus resources toward developing 15 units of housing at 1307 Locust St. in Philadelphia to address housing and social-service needs of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness and housing instability, particularly LGBTQ young adults. “Our continued financial support and strategic oversight reaffirm our commitment to developing youth-friendly spaces throughout our Philadelphia FIGHT locations,” the organization added in the statement. “Simply put, these well-established, youth-serving, local agencies are better equipped to provide specific youth drop-in and housing services for LGBTQ youth.” FIGHT will also relocate its Y-HEP Health Center to 1207 Chestnut St. in 2018. The center will expand under the umbrella of its new Pediatric and Adolescent Health Center. n

MENTAL PGN HEALTH

Is physical touch the cure for a lonely America? In the last several weeks, we’ve watched in hor- lays the groundwork for the ability to feel empathy towards others. ror as Puerto Rico experiences crisis in the afterMany, many American adults suffer from a math of Hurricane Maria. We’ve seen building upon building in shambles alongside countless problem called skin hunger, which is quite literuprooted trees and roads and bridges that can’t ally the experience of our skins, our largest organ, be crossed. Satellite images of the tropical terribeing hungry for touch. In adulthood, whether tory show that nearly 85 percent of the island is single or coupled, loneliness and lack of touch run still without power. People are struggling to find rampant. There are millions of us all across the enough food and water to sustain their families, country sitting in front of our televisions alone or and luxuries — yes, luxuries — like just feeling alone and it’s slowly killing ice and solar-powered lights are very us. Really: Loneliness and skin hunger difficult to come by at this point. often go hand in hand and are both cor Through all of this, though, what related to higher rates of depression, Puerto Rico has inadvertently demonhealth problems and premature death in strated is the power of community. senior citizens. While there have been some reported So why aren’t we reaching out to occurrences of looting (there always is one another, finding other lonely peoin these types of tragedies), there is a ple and becoming less lonely together? much greater culture of helping your Why aren’t we more free with hugs or neighbor than of stealing. Through this an empathetic touch on the shoulder culture of working together, pooling or hand (of course, only when approresources and general kindness, Puerto priate and with appropriate consent, as Ricans are showing us the ways in needed)? It’s a simple reason, really: which our individualistic culture does We are a capitalist culture and with that not weigh out. lots and lots of pride and ego. Kristina Furia comes In the United States proper, we are And pride and ego don’t align very much more inclined to an every-manwell with admission of loneliness or the for-himself approach and the result is a country of desire for human interaction. So instead, we keep lonely, minimally happy people. Research demon- to ourselves and further perpetuate the culture of strates that cultures that function as a community lonely America. A memory comes to mind of a woman I briefly have higher levels of happiness, better overall physical and mental health and longer lifespans. met a couple of years ago at the airport carrying If we don’t change what we’re doing as a society, a “Free Hugs” sign. We were both having issues soon we will all certainly be even worse off for getting seats next to our respective partners and, it — especially during this politically polarizing as we were waiting in line, she turned to me and and often downright-terasked if I wanted a hug. rifying time in which To be honest, I really we’re living. didn’t. I tried to ask a In the 21st century, question in an effort we are a technologically to avoid the hug. She dependent society. With answered and then that, this also means we repeated her question are less inclined to have to me, so I felt I had in-person interactions no choice but to accept and physical contact. the hug. So, I did and For example, prior to it was … impactful. kids’ abundant access It was powerful to be to technology to keep embraced by a stranger them entertained, they with kindness and used to play together warmth and it made — actually together — me feel filled up. Now, more often. Think about I look back on that two kids rough-housing. moment and think how What does that entail? silly it was of me to try Well, it can involve a to dodge her hug. We whole slew of things but what is almost guaranall could use as many hugs as possible. So maybe teed is that physical touch is involved. Why is this you won’t be toting around a “Free Hugs” sign so important? any time soon but I bet you could extend a hand, Physical touch is crucial to human life. It trigan arm, a shoulder or a warm body to someone gers the release of the neurotransmitter called who needs it more often than you have been oxytocin, which just makes you feel good. Really needing it. good. If a newborn baby isn’t touched, that baby And the truth is, we all need it. n will certainly experience attachment-related Kristina Furia is a psychotherapist committed to workissues later in life and, depending on the severing with LGBT individuals and couples, and owns ity of the neglect, the baby can potentially fail Emerge Wellness, an LGBT health and wellness center to thrive all together — just stop developing. Physical touch for babies and young children also in Center City (www.emergewellnessphilly.com).

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

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Thinking Queerly

There are millions of us all across the country sitting in front of our televisions alone or just feeling alone and it’s slowly killing us. Really: Loneliness and skin hunger often go hand in hand and are both correlated to higher rates of depression, health problems and premature death in senior citizens.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

EDITORIAL PGN EDITORIAL

Creep of the Week

D’Anne Witkowski

Jeff Mateer

Editorial

Coming out for resistance National Coming Out Day is a unique occasion in that it celebrates both personal strength and the power of community — lessons sorely needed this year. In the past few years, some questioned the value of community-wide efforts like Pride, and even LGBT-centric bars. With sweeping societal changes like marriage equality and trans-rights laws, were such institutions still necessary? The past 11 months have definitively answered that question. LGBT gains were certainly made in recent years, but wins can easily be rolled back, as President Donald Trump’s administration has shown us. The social and political upheaval that has plagued this country surrounding Trump’s election has also shone a needed light on ongoing and systemic ills whose roots run deep in American society: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia. The progressive victories during the Obama administration may have blinded many Americans to just how widespread and endemic such attitudes remain in this country. Pride is still needed, LGBT bars are still needed and community initiatives like National Coming Out Day are still needed. Both personal and community freedoms are under attack right now, and one of the best forms of resistance to that oppression is visibility. For LGBT people, visibility can take many different forms: marching in an LGBT demonstration, wearing a Pride flag on your backpack, calling your elected officials to advocate for LGBT causes or sharing your coming-out journey with family members and friends. And, in this time of divisiveness, visibility shouldn’t just be relegated to your LGBT identity. This is a time in which all communities under attack need to unite their voices. Come out for LGBT rights, racial justice, women’s rights, disability equality and the countless other movements that are being threatened. Every win for one marginalized community is a victory for others, just like every threat to one group of people is a threat to all. Be visible, be loud and be proud — of both yourself and the many communities who continue to support equality. n

Tell us what you think

Most Americans don’t spend a lot of time thinking about this country’s court system. If you’re lucky, you don’t have a lot of direct contact with the courts. The most privileged among us don’t even really have to think about it. The judicial system is like a sewer system: If it’s working OK, then it’s largely out of sight, out of mind. But when it gets clogged up with garbage, everybody is sorry they didn’t take better care of it and check on it sooner. Clogging our courts up with garbage is just what Donald Trump is doing. He’s outsourced the judge-picking to far-right groups who have been giving him names of extremists that he is dutifully nominating. They are unfit for the bench, but when you’re the president, they let you do it. One of these nominees is Jeff Mateer, who has been nominated for a lifetime seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. And he is a nightmare. In a video put together by the People for the American Way, Mateer calls homosexuality “the elephant in the room” and bemoaned “the agenda that this small group is seeking and imposing on the rest of us.” According to this man, whom Trump wants to make a judge forever, LGBT people are not protected by the Constitution. “I’ve read the 14th Amendment thousands of times,” he said in a recording. “I don’t see anything about right to same-sex marriage, I don’t see anything saying right to homosexuality, I don’t see anything about right to privacy.” No doubt he thinks it’s perfectly all right to tell a lesbian couple, “We’re not going to rent to you” or refuse to make a cake for a gay couple’s wedding, citing religious freedom. He also believes in so-called “reparative therapy,” which has been thoroughly debunked by medical experts but is still embraced by those who believe that you can just “pray the gay away.” The worst is what he has to say about transgender kids and their audacity to fight for the right to use the restroom at school. “It just shows you how Satan’s plan is working and the destruction that’s going on,” Mateer says. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, isn’t having it.

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“How dare he?” Keisling asked. “How dare anyone talk about children this way? This nomination is another slap in the face to hundreds of thousands of families across the country and their children who are transgender. How can they explain to their children that a public official, let alone a judge, speaks about them this way? This nominee simply cannot be confirmed.” And yet, he probably will be. Republicans have been rubber-stamping Trump’s nominees. The Democrats are opposing them, but they are in the minority. In a letter signed by 278 parents of transgender children from 36 states, Mateer is encouraged to apologize and invited to withdraw his nomination. “Hundreds of thousands of children and adolescents throughout this country are transgender, like our kids,” the parents wrote. “Like all children — like your children, Mr. Mateer — they deserve to grow up knowing that they are loved and supported. Your statements about children like ours are the opposite of love — they are cruel. We urge you to apologize sincerely and without reservation to us and our families and all the others like us, and to clearly articulate how wrong and damaging your words are to children like ours — or to withdraw your nomination.” Of course, that’s like imploring the fox to be nice to the chickens now that he has the key to the coop. The radical right doesn’t exactly have a history of showing mercy to LGBT people — quite the opposite. Elections have consequences. And when Trump is finally gone, his legacy will live on in conservative anti-LGBT judges across the country and in the Supreme Court that will shape the legal landscape for generations to come. Some of the battles we thought we won will have to be fought again. The most effective weapon against this? Vote. n

According to this man, whom Trump wants to make a judge forever, LGBT people are not protected by the Constitution.

D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.

Please include a daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, style and space considerations.

OP-ED PGN

Transmissions

Gwendolyn Ann Smith

At war Prior to the 2016 election, I recall writing about how the election of a president is not simply the choosing of one person, but a whole administration — and how the actions of the incoming administration would shape this country in much the same way the largely transgender-positive policies of the Obama administration shaped the previous eight years. We saw how this has played out recently, with the proposed transgender military ban, now being fought in the courts and elsewhere. It was clear that this was an administration that would choose to be openly hostile to its transgender citizens, and willing to use transgender people as scapegoats in the same way it has used Muslims, immigrants, Mexicans and others. So it wasn’t necessarily a surprise when we saw the head of the Department of Justice under President Trump, Jeff Sessions, make the most sweeping moves against transgender people. We knew it was coming — we just did not know when. With a presidency that is foundering, it may simply have been a move he was willing to jump on now before it was too late. Or, perhaps, this was to appease the religious right while shifting the narrative off of things the administration would rather be ignored. It’s hard to say for sure. Not happy to stand in the spotlight just once, Sessions gave us two days of really horrible news. His first move was to reverse course on the Justice Department’s policies declaring Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as being trans-inclusive. This new policy, presented via a memorandum from Jeff Sessions himself, flies in the face of a lot of established law, even while Sessions tries to argue this is an issue of law over policy. “Although federal law, including Title VII, provides various protections to transgender individuals, Title VII does not prohibit discrimination based on gender identity per se,” said Sessions in this memo. “This is a conclusion of law, not policy. As a law-enforcement agency, the Department of Justice must interpret Title VII as written by Congress.” In was 1989, in the Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins case, that the issue of sex stereotyping was upheld under Tile VII. In short, the ruling made it clear that “acting like a woman” was not a requirement of women in the workplace. It’s not exactly a leap to see how this also applies to gender identity and expression. There are decades of case law that Sessions seems willing to ignore. As I said, this was only the first of two actions by Sessions. Just one day after his memorandum on Title VII, Sessions issued a memorandum on federal-law protections for religious liberty. This is something that was threatened from the first few weeks of the Trump presidency, and was routinely expected to be presented as an executive order. The memo is little more than a

policy that gives carte blanche for discrimination, provided you cloak it in religious language. Make no mistake: Such a policy makes discrimination against LGBT people a sanctioned, protected thing under this administration. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, this “permits federal agencies, government contractors, government grantees and even private businesses to engage in illegal discrimination, as long as they can cite religious reasons for doing so.” And you thought just attempting to bar us from public restrooms was bad. This is much farther-reaching, and in some areas could cut you off from food, housing, employment and any basic necessity. The person at the counter at your local DMV or Social Security office can refuse to assist you, or you may be barred from care at a VA hospital. You could even be refused service at a restaurant, the local department store or anywhere else for that matter. Any business can, in short, put a “No Transgender People” sign on its door, claiming that the mere existence of transgender people in their establishment infringes on their religious freedom. I should add, too, that these moves are in line with organizations such as the Family Research Council, which immediately set up a “snitch” telephone hotline to report businesses that aren’t protecting their employees’ religious “right to discriminate.” I’m sure that such numbers will be used to harass or harm people, all in the name of religion. So here we are, faced with a government that is making it all that much easier to discriminate against us while simultaneously declaring that it won’t stand with us when we’re the ones discriminated against. In short, the Department of Justice under Sessions has just declared war on LGBT individuals, and in particular transgender people. We may not have started this fight, but it is up to each of us to end it. This administration wants to use us as a convenient scapegoat and “wedge issue” at best, and wishes to see us eliminated at worse. It is more important than ever that we rise up and be heard. This has very-rapidly escalated into a fight for our very existence — and not only within the eyes of the law. Rest assured that if they’ll go as far as they have, then would indeed go farther, attempting to push us back into the closet, or an early grave. We can’t let them win. I call upon every one of us to do so. Write your Congressperson, aid your trans and LGBT organizations, get out and march or do whatever you can do to push back against these attacks on our lives. Speak out, be visible and be loud. n Gwen Smith misses those quiet times of 2016. You’ll find her on the web at www.gwensmith.com.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

Street Talk Should the city release the name of a police officer who kills someone in the line of duty? "Yes. I can see both sides of the story, but I think we need transparency, considering all the killings Tiffany Ferriola that are nurse happening. South Philadelphia It seems like every other day, you turn on the news and somebody has died [due to police], for no reason."

"Yes. I'm not a big fan of cops. If they kill someone, the public has a right to know their identity. It's a safety issue for everyone. Logan Paz People cook who aren't South Philadelphia straight, white, cisgendger males are at risk for police violence."

"Yes. They should be held accountable. Cops should be held to the same standards as normal civilians. Kiki Volkert Regardless of writer whether the Bella Vista shooting was justified, the public has a right to know their names."

"First, just release the officer's name to the victim's immediate family. They're grieving and have a right Stokes to know what Antonio senior chef happened. South Philadelphia But you also have to consider the [privacy] rights of the officer. If the family wants to publicize the officer's name on their own, they should seek legal counsel before doing so."

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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.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

PGN

PHOTOS: SCOTT A. DRAKE OUTFEST from page 1

annual award winners. They included Michael P. Williams with the National OutProud Award, Tenika Watson with the OutProud Transgender Award, Bread & Roses Community Fund with the OutProud Award and Alex Phillips with the OutStanding Youth Award.

Ashley Coleman and Dena Underwood received the first-time OutProud Couple Award. Price said she was impressed by the age of the crowd, which she said is getting “younger and younger.” “When I think about 10 years ago and everyone [in attendance] was in

their 30s or older, and now the average person in front of that stage is between 13-25, it’s amazing that more and more young people are coming out. We asked the crowd at one time, ‘How many people came out of the closet within the last five years?’ And almost everyone raised their hand that was under 20 or 21. It’s

interesting that our events are getting much younger and younger.” As for future events, Price said Philly Pride Presents hopes to do more outreach for volunteers. Interested volunteers can email pridevolunteers@aol.com or call 215875-9288. n

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

PGN HISTORY

LGBT History Month

Civil-rights icon Congressman John Lewis on LGBT equality, social justice By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com When President Barack Obama linked Selma, Seneca Falls and Stonewall in his second Inaugural Address, it was a connection that hit home for Congressman John Lewis. For more than six decades, Lewis has been on the front lines of the fight for social justice — whether it’s racial equality, the women’s movement or LGBT rights. Lewis began his work in the civil-rights movement in the 1950s, and quickly became a national leader. He was the youngest of the “Big Six” — a national group of movement leaders, alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who organized the 1963 March on Washington — and an original Freedom Rider. Lewis led hundreds of civil-rights marchers into Selma, Ala., in 1965, in a demonstration that would come to be known as “Bloody Sunday,” as protestors were beaten and tear-gassed by police; Lewis still bears the scars of a skull fracture he suffered that day. Lewis parlayed his protests into politics, rising from a City Council member in Atlanta to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a role he has held for more than 30 years. During that time, Lewis has been a constant ally to and advocate for LGBT causes. PGN sat down with the congressman to explore his view of the evolution of American equality. PGN: You led a congressional sit-in following last summer’s shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando. What did that accomplish, and do you think something like that would be effective again, given the events in Las Vegas? JL: Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “The time is always right to protest for what is right.” We have had too much gun violence, lost too many people. After Orlando, and after the sit-in on the House floor, we thought we’d see some action on the part of the House and the Senate, but we have not seen any action. We have not moved. Even now, with what happened in Las Vegas, people are saying, “It’s too early to do something.” We have to do something. As I said on the steps of the Capitol today, we lost too many mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, too many of our friends. The time is right for action. We will be engaged in some form of nonviolent protest at the Capitol or in some building because we cannot wait. We cannot see more and more people being murdered at a concert, a dance hall, in a school, in a church, a mosque, a temple. We are determined to put control of the proliferation of gun violence on the Congressional agenda. The American people are demanding it. They want us to act, to do something. People say, “We have to

progress we’ve made. What happened in [Charlottesville] Virginia a few weeks ago traumatized this country more than anything in recent years. The scars, the stains of racism and bigotry are still deeply embedded in American society. It’s a constant struggle for us to redeem the soul of America — during the movement, we called it “a beloved community.” I believe we will get there. I think many members of the gay community today are playing a major role in helping us get there, along with women’s groups, young people, children. I believe our finality will be the young — middle school, elementary school, high school, college. They will help us get there, to lay down the burden of sexism, bigotry, hate, anti-Semitism. We will get there. I’m very optimistic.

PRESIDENT OBAMA PRESENTING LEWIS WITH THE 2010 PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM

wait, we have to be patient.” Before the March on Washington, they told us to wait, to be patient. We cannot wait. We cannot be patient. We want freedom, and we want it now. We want gun control now. PGN: Switching gears, you have degrees in religious studies. What do you think can be done to close the chasm between the LGBT community and some religious communities? JL: I think it’s important for members of religious communities to understand and know that members of the gay community are part of the human family. I grew up in a Baptist church. I attended churches of all kind in Atlanta, in Nashville. People shouldn’t discriminate against someone who is gay or put someone down. Many of the members in our churches, in our religious institutions, are gay. The church is supposed to preach the gospel of love, the gospel of peace, the gospel of sisterhood and brotherhood, that we are one family — that we all live in the same house, not just an American house but a world house. As Dr. King said, “Learn to live together as brothers and sisters. If not, we’ll perish as fools.” The church needs to learn and understand that there is not any room in our society — or any society — to discriminate against someone because of sexual orientation. PGN: You’ve been fighting for civil rights, particularly racial justice, for decades. What are your thoughts on the current state of race relations in this country, compared to 60 years ago when you started this work? What’s changed and what hasn’t? JL: We’ve come a distance and made a lot of progress. When I was growing up and getting involved in the movement,

you would see signs: “White men” and “Colored men,” “White women” and “Colored women.” In 1961, the year President Obama was born, blacks and whites couldn’t be seated together on a bus leaving Washington, D.C., and traveling through the South. We were arrested. We were jailed. We were beaten. But today, the signs are gone and the only

PGN: What do you say to those who don’t share that optimism, in light of the current administration? JL: I say over and over to people — young people and not so young — that, in spite of everything that has happened, you must be hopeful. You must be optimistic. If you lose hope and you lose optimism, it’s like you don’t exist, like you are dead. You cannot afford to lose it. Right after the election, people would come up to me and say, “Congressman, I’m so down, so

LEWIS SPEAKING AT THE 1963 MARCH ON WASHINGTON

places we see those signs are in a book, on video or in a museum. So we have come a distance. We made progress. People who say we haven’t, I feel like saying to them, “Come walk in my shoes.” People can register to vote now where during the 1950s and ’60s they were beaten, arrested, jailed. Some people were murdered when they attempted to register to vote or encouraged others to register. There are folks who are trying to make it harder, to undo the

down.” They’d walk up and say, “I need a hug.” I said, “I need a hug too,” and we all hugged. But we have to get up — keep picking up and putting down and keep saying, “I’m going to keep the faith, keep moving, keep hoping and keep building that sense of community for the common good.” n Jen Colletta is the editor of Philadelphia Gay News.

HISTORY PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

LGBT History Month

Lyon, Martin paved the way for lesbians By Alex Madison In a time when President Donald Trump has directed a ban on transgender individuals from serving in the military, his administration has rescinded protections for trans students in public schools and the advancement of LGBTQ national historic landmarks are in question, the stories of those who fought for equal rights in an earlier era seem to be more important than ever before. One such story is that of Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, who ushered in the modern lesbian movement and made history by becoming the first same-sex couple married in San Francisco — twice. Their accomplishments as activists and the love they shared have become a symbol of perseverance, strength and hope for the LGBTQ community. “If you got stuff you want to change, you have to get out and work on it,” said the 93-year-old Lyon. “You can’t just sit around and say, ‘I wish this or that was different.’ You have to fight for it.”  Lyon is still a beacon of strength, wit and charm as she reminisced about her younger years. Although Martin died in 2008 at age 87, Lyon still lives in the couple’s one-bedroom home nestled in the hills of Noe Valley, which they shared for more than 50 years. “I can’t be out galloping around like I used to, getting stuff done,” said Lyon as she sat in her living room during a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter. Decades ago, the room served as a gathering place for lesbians during a time of social conformity, when the lesbian community only had a handful of bars in the Castro district in which to meet and socialize. “Oh, gosh, we used to have dance parties here all the time,” Lyon recalled, smiling. Although Lyon said she has not considered submitting her home to become a national or local landmark after she passes, one step inside the cozy abode reveals the couple’s history-making life, seen through countless pictures, knickknacks and newspaper clippings. Kendra Mon, Martin’s only child from her first marriage, remembers spending summers at the couple’s home when she was a student at UC Berkeley. Over the years, Mon has come to understand the important role her mother and Lyon played in the lesbian community, something she didn’t quite grasp as a young adult. “Lesbians would call the house from all over the world,” said Mon, a retired mother of two who lives in Petaluma, Calif. “A lot of their friends were scared at that time. Mom gave them a place where they could feel safe.”

Wedding bells When former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered city officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in February 2004, the “Winter of Love” was unleashed, as images of happy gay and lesbian couples lined up outside City Hall were beamed into living rooms across the country and around the world. But that day, Feb. 12, started off with a quieter ceremony inside a City Hall office, where Newsom married Lyon and Martin, as LGBT community leaders and others looked on. Ultimately, the California Supreme Court ruled several months later that those 2004 marriages were invalid because Newsom had exceeded his authority. Lyon and Martin — and the thousands of others — would have to wait four more years, when the same court in May 2008 overturned Proposition 22, a same-sex marriage ban, and said that denying marriage rights to same-sex couples violated the state Constitution. Wedding bells began ringing in the Golden State in June. (The same-sex nuptials were halted in November of that year, after state voters passed the Proposition 8 marriage ban. After years of legal wrangling, the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2013 tossed out Prop 8 on a technicality and same-sex marriages resumed in California.) Martin and Lyon were the first same-sex couple to be married in the city in 2004 and 2008. Framed, yellowed San Francisco Chronicle articles of the couple’s historic weddings grace the walls of Lyon’s well-lit living room. The headlines read, “Wedding Bells to Ring in a New Era” and “The Wait is Over.” “We got it started for everybody else,” Lyon said of her 2004 wedding. “We didn’t get married just for us. We knew it was important to a lot of other people.”  Although their first marriage was ended after 181 days, it didn’t stop the couple from continuing their fight. Martin and Lyon exchanged vows again on June 16, 2008. Martin died Aug. 27, just 74 days after again making history. The matching pink and blue suits the couple wore are now in the permanent collection in the archives of the GLBT Historical Society. A longtime friend of both women, Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, personally asked Lyon and Martin to be the first samesex couple to wed in 2004. “I called the house and Phyllis answered the phone. I told her I needed them to do one more thing for the movement,” Kendell said, recalling it to be a humorous conversation, after Lyon put her on hold to ask Martin. They said yes a few minutes later. Kendell attended both marriage ceremo-

nies, an emotional experience for her. “I burst into tears, as did other staffers,” she said. “You knew you were a part of something historically very important standing there.”  For someone who grew up in a time where lesbianism was seen as “immoral, sick and illegal,” Lyon said she never

1955, the first social and political organization for lesbians in the United States. In 1956, they started a newsletter called The Ladder, which grew into a publication about lesbian politics and culture and became a lifeline for hundreds of women isolated and silenced by the restrictions of the era.

PHYLLIS LYON (RIGHT) PREPARES TO CUT THEIR WEDDING CAKE AS DEL MARTIN LOOKS ON AFTER THE COUPLE WAS MARRIED BY SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM ON JUNE 16, 2008. Photo: Jane Philomen Cleland

believed she would live long enough to marry her “sweety-puss” and the love of her life, as she called Martin, let alone see same-sex marriage legalized nationally. But sure enough, in a landmark decision on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples could marry in all 50 states. “I think we’ve made tremendous progress,” said Lyon, laughing about how she is still amazed that people don’t fall over dead when she tells them she is a lesbian. The incredible accomplishments of Lyon and Martin no doubt played a role in the progress of the LGBTQ community in San Francisco and beyond. When Martin died, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) famously said, “We would never have marriage equality in California if it weren’t for Del and Phyllis.” Earlier days Martin began working as an activist after receiving her degree in journalism from UC Berkeley. While working at a newspaper in Seattle, Martin met Lyon in 1950 and the two began working on behalf of lesbians in their community, health-care access, advocacy on behalf of battered women and issues facing elderly Americans. Together more than 50 years, the couple founded the Daughters of Bilitis in

Martin also became an activist for the feminist movement in 1963 when she was the first out lesbian to serve on the board of directors of the National Organization for Women. The women were pioneers, tireless activists and together a symbol of what it means to fight for equality and love in the LGBTQ community. Their many contributions over the past five decades are credited with shaping the modern LGBT movement. In 2005, Lyon and Martin were inducted into the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association’s LGBT Journalists Hall of Fame. “No, we are not back in the 1950s, but we are facing some of the most threatening and dangerous times, certainly in my lifetime,” Kendell said of the Trump administration’s lack of support of the LGBTQ community. “Phyllis and Del are examples of how you live during difficult times. I look to them as an inspiration, a north star of how you show up, you fight and be present.” Lyon plans to donate some of the items in her home to the Smithsonian Institute but, as Kendell said, the memory and legacy of Martin and Lyon live on through their writings, perseverance and love for one another. n Alex Madison is a freelance reporter for the Bay Area Reporter.

HISTORY PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

LGBT History Month

Behind the Lens: Photojournalist Kay Lahusen By Tracy Baim Kay Tobin Lahusen was the first photojournalist of the LGBTQ movement, a preand post-Stonewall activist who helped to document the earliest protests for homosexual rights. Lahusen, born Jan. 5, 1930, in Cincinnati, is perhaps best known as the life partner of activist Barbara Gittings, but she was an equal partner in their 46-year relationship, begun in 1961 and lasting until Gittings’ death in 2007. The women met in Rhode Island at a party for The Ladder, a national publication of the lesbian group Daughters of Bilitis (DOB). This was fitting, as they would later work on the publication together, from 1963 until the summer of 1966. A Lahusen photograph, under the name Kay Tobin, was the first photo of a real-life lesbian to appear on the cover of a homosexual publication, in September 1964. The first full-face portrait of a lesbian on the cover was in January 1966, of D.C. activist Lilli Vincenz. Lahusen spoke about her early life with Eric Marcus for his book “Making Gay History: The Half-Century Fight for Lesbian and Gay Equal Rights”: “The summer after I graduated, in 1948, I met a girl who had gone to the same high school I had. We hadn’t met before. I fell in love with her … [A]fter a year together, I finally faced the fact that this was more than friendship. This was desire and sex and lust and love, just like straight people feel. I have to tell you, I had a breakdown over this revelation … This went on for two weeks … I finally brought it to a head within myself; I just decided that I was right and the world was wrong and that there couldn’t be anything wrong with this kind of love.” Lahusen moved to Boston to work for The Christian Science Monitor in the reference library, from 1956-61. She found out about The Ladder from a psychiatrist in New York City. “I asked him a couple of questions about what made people gay, which I wasn’t really interested in,” Lahusen told Marcus. “Then I came to the real question, ‘How do I meet others?’ So he said, ‘Oh, if that’s what you want, that’s easy.’ He reached over on his desk and pulled out this old copy of The Ladder and gave it to me. He said, ‘Here. This is published by the Daughters of Bilitis. They have an office here in New York. You can call them up. Here’s the phone number.’ Well, I almost fell off the chair. I said, ‘That’s enough,’ and even though I only spent 10 minutes with him, I wrote him my check for $20 for the full hour. I was lifted to the skies, but I was so thrown I couldn’t even think of contacting DOB that minute. I had to regroup.”

Lahusen soon met Gittings, and quickly became immersed in the world of homosexual activism and publishing. “Although Kay’s name didn’t appear on the masthead, her vision, as much as mine, shaped the magazine for three and a half years,” Gittings told Troy Perry and Thomas Swicegood in their book “Profiles in Gay & Lesbian Courage.” “Kay and I believed we could eventually reach tens of thousands of lesbians who had never heard about our movement, lesbians who didn’t necessarily want to join us but needed to see themselves in a better light, who needed to know that they were not alone, that something was being done to change things,” Gittings said. When Time magazine published an essay, “The Homosexual in America,” on Jan. 21, 1966, referring to homosexuality as “a pernicious sickness,” Lahusen responded in the April Ladder with “A Rebuke for TIME’s Pernicious Prejudice,” followed by “Letters TIME didn’t print,” criticizing the “crippling methodological flaws [in the Time article].” The first White House picket for homosexual rights happened April 17, 1965. That year proved to be a pivotal one nationally for gays protesting in the streets. The April 17 protest was against Fidel Castro’s plan to put Cuban homosexuals in labor camps, and it also aimed to call attention to the poor treatment of homosexuals by the U.S. government. There were 10 picketers that day, and 29 at activist Randy Wicker’s United Nations protest April 18. Another White House protest followed, on May 29, with about 13 people (signs included “We Don’t Dodge the Draft, the Draft Dodges Us”). On June 26, more than 20 protested in front of the U.S. Civil Service Commission over its ban on the employment of gays. The July-August 1965 edition of The Ladder covered the protests, as reported by Lahusen: “After all efforts to negotiate with the Commission had failed, the homosexuals decided to stage a public demonstration and call attention to the problem … All were conservatively dressed and presented dignified appearance.” On July 31, there were 16 picketers at the Pentagon over military antigay bias. On Aug. 28, there were 14 reported at the State Department to protest employment bias and security-clearance issues. On Sept. 26, a total of 30 picketed at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral to protest discrimination against a pro-gay minister. And on Oct. 23 of that year, 45 people picketed at the White House. Gittings was at nearly all of those protests, and Lahusen was there to document. Also in 1965, on July 4, a series of

annual protests began at Independence Hall in Philadelphia that would further shape Gittings’ role as a leader in the movement. These protests were, after all, in her adopted hometown, one that in later years would honor her with street dedications, awards and special tributes. Lahusen made sure these events were documented and not forgotten. The West Coast leadership of DOB became concerned about the more-activist direction of The Ladder, so Gittings and Lahusen were out by 1966. But by then, Gittings and Lahusen had climbed onto a larger platform, with Lahusen documenting their efforts every step of the way. Gittings and Lahusen were not in New York City when the Stonewall riots occurred, but when they returned from vacation, they kept pace with the swift changes in the movement by joining protests and new organizations. “I don’t like violence but I was pretty elated to hear that GLBT people were standing up and fighting back in the midst of a police [raid] on a seedy, Mafia-run gay bar,” Lahusen said in a 2012 Philadelphia Gay News interview with Jen Colletta. “Gay people were largely outwitting the police. News of their bravery galvanized gay people in New York and across the country, really. The riots were a flashpoint, Barbara used to say, in the gay-rights movement and inspired gay people to get further organized and step up their efforts to improve the lives of their minority … Early picketers inspired gay people to go a step further and fight back at Stonewall.” “They were spouting stuff that I had never heard before,” Lahusen told Marcus about the post-Stonewall activist meetings. “And here I was, the plain-Jane dinosaur out of the old gay movement.” Lahusen recalled that she and Gittings tried to turn a negative — being called “dinosaurs” by their own community — into positive public relations. The couple would often bring two stuffed dinosaurs to community meetings and events, and their photo was taken with the props. Gittings, Lahusen and other Philadelphia activists turned their focus in 1970 to the first-anniversary commemoration of the Stonewall riots, with some 2,000 people attending the Christopher Street Liberation Day march in New York City. Lahusen was one of the original dozen-or-so members of the Gay Activists Alliance, and also organized the Gay Women’s Alternative in the early 1970s in New York City. “[GAA] did all sorts of public protests,” Lahusen told Marcus. “We lay in wait for Mayor Lindsay to come out from the Metropolitan Museum and then stormed

up the steps and got right in front of him and asked him embarrassing things. When the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations came out of some meeting and got in his big black limousine, I remember going crazy, rocking and beating on the limousine. He didn’t know what was going on. He had never been besieged by a bunch of homosexuals before.” Gittings, Lahusen and Frank Kameny also took on the antigay policies and culture of the American Psychiatric Association together. In advance of their appearance on a 1972 APA Dallas conference panel that would become historic, Gittings and Kameny issued “Gay, Proud, and Healthy,” a statement regarding the psychiatric profession. Lahusen said of the panel: “This isn’t right. Here you have two psychiatrists pitted against two gays and what you really need is someone who is both.” The panel moderator, Dr. Kent Robinson, agreed to add a gay psychiatrist if the activists could find one. “Kay and I wrote letters and made phone calls around the country,” Gittings recalled years later in summarizing her work fighting the APA. “At last, John Fryer said yes, provided he could wear a wig and mask and use a voice-distorting microphone. Dr. H. Anonymous was born.” Lahusen’s photos of that panel provide critical documentation of the successful effort to change the APA. Also in 1972, Lahusen published the book “The Gay Crusaders.” The publisher insisted on having a male name with hers on the cover, so Randy Wicker agreed, but he said it was all Lahusen’s effort. Of those early protests, Lahusen told PGN’s Colletta: “Some participants were fearful, some were proud, others were simply marching in the belief that they had to come out if things were going to change. It’s been said that all social-change movements find they ultimately have to take to the streets. Of course, when you’re marching, you have no crystal ball to tell if you’re helping make changes but you hope so, even believe so. I certainly believed we were doing something historically significant, something to help lift GLBT people as a class in our society.” There is a bench that marks Gittings’ final resting place, in Washington’s Congressional Cemetery. “This is where we will be buried together, our ashes will be together in this bench,” Lahusen said. On the top it reads: “GAY PIONEERS who spoke truth to power. GAY IS GOOD.” The front of the bench reads: “Partners in life. Married in our hearts.” n This article is excerpted and adapted from “Barbara Gittings: Gay Pioneer,” a 2015 book by Tracy Baim.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

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By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Both sides in a contentious legal dispute regarding alleged anti-LGBT reparative therapy at Milton Hershey School have agreed to a protective order in the case. Funded by the late chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey, the school serves 2,000 underprivileged youth from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. Students live on campus in cottages with assigned house parents. Last year, Adam Dobson, a former Hershey student, filed suit against the school, claiming he was pressured into viewing an antigay video by a house parent. Dobson, 22, was enrolled in 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. Dobson alleges that school officials discriminated against him because of his depression — a condition that was exacerbated due to pressure from a house parent to change his sexual orientation. Another former student, Marcous Marchese, recently spoke out publicly about allegedly being pressured into watching an antigay video by two Hershey house parents in 2010.

News Briefing Dignity hosts retreat for LGBT Catholics Dignity Philadelphia is hosting a retreat this weekend, which will focus on the future of the LGBT community in the Catholic Church. The LGBT Catholic organization will stage the gathering from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia, 1166 S. Broad St. Admission is $10 and includes coffee and Danish in the morning, as well as lunch. For more information or to register, email HenryWChau@yahoo.com.

Episcopal Diocese explores LGBT history The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania’s History Committee will feature two LGBTfocused presentations at its second-annual Fall Forum this weekend. The event will be held 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Church of St. Luke and The

Last month, both sides agreed to a detailed protective order in the case. On Sept. 29, U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner approved the protective order. Under the order, information relating to the case that isn’t meant to be publicly accessible should be clearly identified as “confidential.” The order specifically applies to deposition transcripts, hearing transcripts and information produced due to the issuance of a subpoena. Deposition transcripts shall presumptively be considered to have been designated “confidential” for a period of 14 days following receipt of the transcript by the parties. In the event of an accidental disclosure of confidential information without its designation as “confidential,” the parties will work in good faith to permit the source to correct the disclosure. Additionally, the order provides for a procedure to challenge a “confidential” designation by either side. If the dispute cannot be resolved in good faith, the parties may seek intervention by the court. The information at issue will remain confidential until the court rules on the confidential designation. Neither side had a comment for this story. n Epiphany, 330 S. 13th St. Among the activities is a 10:30 a.m. talk by William Way LGBT Community Center archivist Bob Skiba about “Claiming the LGBT Space in Washington Square West.” At 11:15 a.m., the Rev. Mike Haines will moderate “Reflections Upon St. Luke and The Epiphany and The AIDS Crisis,” a panel featuring William Way Executive Director Chris Bartlett, the Rev. Rodger Broadley and the Rt. Rev. Allen L. Bartlett. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://ow.ly/ Jqgq30fO2ib.

Celebrate Halloween with flag-football league The Greater Philadelphia Flag Football League is hosting a Heroes & Villains Halloween Party from 8-11 p.m. Oct. 21 at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. The event features a DJ, drinks, snacks, costume contest, silent auction and 50/50 raffle. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door; themed couples can get $5 off their admission at the door. A flip cup tournament will be played for an additional $5 per player. Funds raised support the LGBT-friendly league. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://ow.ly/Jsyy30fO3mx. n — Jen Colletta

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

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New Orleans: Beyond Bourbon Street By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com It’s almost too easy to fall in love with the Big Easy. The universal appeal of New Orleans lies within its versatility as a vacation spot: From nightlife to nature, and music to meals, the Crescent City offers a robust to-do list for travelers of all interests. LGBT tourists, in particular, will feel right at home in the city. Like Philly’s own Gayborhood, rainbow flags wave high and proud throughout the city — from its famed French Quarter to the quirky Bywater neighborhood and the revitalized Arts District. An anything-goes culture permeates New Orleans, whose rich history is intertwined with its embrace of diversity, making for a trip that’s both exciting and energizing. What to do New Orleans has a reputation as a party town — and for good reason. A trip to NOLA would be incomplete without a jaunt over to the famed Bourbon Street. Home to dozens of bars, Bourbon is truly a sight to behold, with its flashing neon lights, jazz music floating out of open doors and street performers. You can grab a drink and go just about anywhere on the strip, leading to a congenial street-party-type atmosphere. Competition is rife among clubs, so many offer deep discounts and unique cocktail creations. LGBT clubs are dotted throughout the 13-block corridor, with several anchored around St. Ann and Dumain streets, including longtime corner-bar joint Café Lafitte in Exile and dance clubs Bourbon Pub/ Parade and Oz. If it’s LGBT nightlife you’re after, schedule your trip for Labor Day Weekend, when New Orleans hosts Southern Decadence — think an evengayer Mardi Gras — which draws upwards of 100,000 people. The French Quarter is exceptionally walkable so venture off Bourbon for a more laidback, and perhaps even more genuine, taste of New Orleans. Music is a backbone of the city, and Frenchmen Street is the place to find it. From iconic jazz bars to new reggae hot spots, live music emanates from just about every bar and restaurant (we’ll get to the dizzying dining opportunities shortly!). A night out in New Orleans may turn into an early morning, so make sure to plan accordingly. Early risers can get in some cardio and fantastic views of the city with a kayak tour by Kayak-iti-Yat. Two- or four-hour tours down the Bayou St. John are available, with the former being a perfect fit for first-time or inexperienced kayakers. Operators (and married couple) Sonny and Sara are fountains of information on allthings New Orleans. As you glide through the water, the pair will guide you through

the bayou’s evolution and role in New Orleans history, as well as point out everything from architectural marvels to unique wildlife that you’re bound to spot (you may even coast over an alligator or two!). They’re also well-versed in the unique environmental issues New Orleans faces, and their insight provides a bird’s-eye view of the city you could only get from locals. Across from the launch spot is City Park. The massive, 1,300-acre green space features walking, running and biking paths galore, as well as a botanical garden, sculpture garden and the New Orleans Museum of Art. Families with youngsters (or those young at heart!) can hit up the amusement park, mini-golf and playgrounds. Depending on the time of year, outdoor activities in New Orleans come with their

the picturesque Jackson Square, is home to an exhibit on Hurricane Katrina, which features incredible archival material that traces the storm’s enduring impact on the city. The second floor is a colorful look at the Mardi Gras tradition; any fashion lover must stop by to marvel at the costumes. Fashion is also a focus of Royal Street shopping. A block from Bourbon, the corridor features everything from boutiques to antiques, and art aficionados will be in their glory with the multitude of galleries. Even if your wallet will only let you window shop, a stroll down Royal Street is a great way to see the city. The architecture around New Orleans could warrant its own column. Make sure to schedule some time for a leisurely walk to take in the beauty of the balconies and

tale of New Orleans’ evolving restaurant community. If you’re looking for a spot with deep New Orleans roots, visit Café du Monde, in operation for more than 150 years. Though it has lines of tourists comparable to Pat’s and Geno’s in Philly, the wait is worth it at Café du Monde (and the menu is much simpler!). The café churns out chicory-flavored café au lait and beignets — a delectable fusion of funnel cake and doughnuts. Grab lots of napkins; the treats are smothered in powdered sugar. Parkway Bakery & Tavern is another New Orleans staple, just as popular with locals as it is with tourists. The family-run eatery is the standard bearer for the city’s famed po’boy sandwiches. Try the popular fried oyster, shrimp, catfish or roast

A WORLD WAR II-ERA PLANE AT THE WORLD WAR II MUSEUM (LEFT) AND PARKWAY BAKERY & TAVERN Photos: Jen Colletta

fair share of heat and humidity, so pack the sunscreen and water bottles. To escape the temps, duck into the World War II Museum. Located in the Arts District, the multi-building campus is home to an impressive collection of nearly 250,000 items, presented in an immersive and often-interactive setting. Planes and helicopters used in the war are suspended from the ceiling, and guests can walk alongside Jeeps and other vehicles integral to the war. Read personal letters from soldiers and see their uniforms, weapons and other belongings; guests can even hop onto a 1940s train car to get matched up with a real World War II soldier, whose story they follow throughout the museum. The artistry involved in each exhibit is astonishing — you can learn about the USS Tang Submarine aboard a replica and about the conditions soldiers faced in Asian jungles under tree-covered trails — and drives home the realities of the war. Another eye-opening experience can be found at The Presbytère at the Louisiana State Museum. The building, located at

the creativity of the colors. Where to eat New Orleans’ culinary scene is unparalleled — you may be tempted to spend your entire vacation eating (trust us, we tried). The city offers a good mix of longtime staples and newbies, which help tell the

beef, or opt for creativity with the smoked alligator sausage, steamed corned beef or sweet potato. You get a real taste of the neighborhood at Parkway, which has been serving New Orleanians at the same corner since 1911. In operation for more than 40 years, The Country Club sits at an intersection of New Orleans’ past and future, thanks to

THE COUNTRY CLUB

PGN TRAVEL

A KAYAK TOUR ON BAYOU ST. JOHN, LED BY KAYAK-ITI-YAT (TOP) AND A STAFFER MAKING TABLESIDE BANANAS FOSTER AT ARNAUD’S

its location in the revitalizing Bywater. With a huge rainbow flag waving on its front porch, The Country Club has long been a haven for LGBT visitors. The historic home that houses the restaurant is a feast for the eyes; marvel at the architecture in the parlor rooms, the beauty of the veranda or the people-watching potential by the pool (sorry, guys — the clothing-optional policy ended a few years ago!). Plan to spend serious time here. Casual meets charming at

Vacherie. Chat with locals at the bar during Vacherie’s popular happy hour and then settle down in the more-upscale dining room, the perfect ambiance for a romantic night out. Despite the sophisticated feel, Vacherie’s menu is rife with comfort food (much of which embraces New Orleans’ Cajun and Creole influences). Tip: Try the crab cakes; you won’t be sorry. Another great date spot is Josephine Estelle, located in

the Ace Hotel. Cavernous ceilings, expansive windows and marquee-style lighting set the mood, and the menu follows through. Southern and Italian tastes fuse here, to great success. The quality of the homemade pastas — many of which are kicked up a notch with chili, garlic or shrimp — are out of this world, as are the meatballs. Another hotel hot spot is Compère Lapin, situated in The Old No. 77 (more on that later!). Ingenuity abounds on the Caribbean-influenced menu, which features standouts like semolina gnocchi with collard greens and Creole spices and the seafood pepper pot. Wash it all down with a selection from Compère Lapin’s notably creative cocktail list — watching the bartenders make the drinks, with their dizzying number of ingredients, is almost as fun as drinking them. A perfect finale to a trip to New Orleans can be found at the crème de la crème of New Orleans’ culinary community, Arnaud’s. Right off Bourbon Street, it provides a welcomed respite from the celebrations outside and, with 14 dining rooms, is the largest restaurant in the city. Arnaud’s serves classic Creole: from soups like turtle and seafood gumbo to an extensive selection of oyster dishes to chicken and other meats. The filet Charlemond was a particular standout, perfectly tender and doused in a mouthwatering Béarnaise sauce; round out the dish with sautéed wild mushrooms and asparagus hollandaise to add even more dimension to your meal. The food at Arnaud’s is matched only by the service, as the attentive waitstaff won’t let a spare crumb on the table or a melted ice cube go unnoticed. Save Arnaud’s for your final night in New Orleans (as you’ll be comparing all your other meals to it!). Where to stay With so much to do out and about in New Orleans, you may be tempted to not give much thought to your accommodations. But there are a few spots in the city that offer much more than a place to crash at night — and where a stay enhances your experience. If you’re looking to be right in the thick of the Bourbon Street hustle and bustle, Hotel

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

Le Marais is your best bet. The boutique hotel is just a stone’s throw from all the action but offers enough privacy that you would never know it. A courtyard boasts a saltwater pool and plush lounge chairs, making it the perfect spot to unwind from or gear up for a night out. Guest rooms feature shuttered windows, walk-in showers and flat-screen televisions, a satisfying blend of modern ameni-

to Compère Lapin and lounges where guests can explore history and art books. The hotel embraces the building’s origins as a mid-19th-century warehouse, with exposed brick and pipes throughout, including in the guest rooms, whose decoration carries through with the vintage theme. Situated in the Arts District, the hotel is a strong supporter of the local arts community,

THE OLD NO. 77 HOTEL (TOP) AND HOTEL LE MARAIS

ties and old-school charm. Free breakfast is served daily and its VIVE! Bar opens onto the courtyard, making for a relaxed gathering space to get your night off on the right foot. A few blocks outside of the French Quarter is The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery. Gorgeous hardwood floors welcome guests to the lobby, which features a bakery, access

with guest rooms bearing reproductions of local student pieces and the lobby featuring galleries of local art available for purchase. The Old No. 77 is just a half-mile from the heart of the French Quarter, yet it’s surrounded by art galleries, museums and a flourishing culinary scene, which can give visitors a different look at one of the many sides of New Orleans. n

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

TRANS SAFETY from page 1

Greenberg, as well as former Director of LGBT Affairs Nellie Fitzpatrick and State Rep. Brian Sims. “As a proud member of the LGBT community and the LGBT liaison at the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, I’m extremely happy and excited for this directive to be implemented at this office,” Austin said. Alvarez, a trans advocate, called the directive “amazing” and said it proves that “the city of Philadelphia is one of the most progressive cities in the entire country.” “A lot of people don’t realize that, for the trans community, the percentage of us having to deal with the Sheriff’s Department at one time or another is way greater than the average citizen of Philadelphia, particularly for trans people of color,” Alvarez said. “At some point, we are going to have to deal with law enforcement and, many times, it’s not due to our own circumstances.” Officers will undergo a four-hour training on the new policies Oct. 14, Williams said. Toward the end of the press conference, Williams noted the process of drafting the document impressed upon him the importance of respecting diversity. “I’ve learned that the world is a place for all people,” he said. “There are a lot of people who have a lot of different circumstances. So if you take just a little bit of time to reach out and listen, you can help someone and actually change their life.” n

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MOVING PICTURES: “Alaska is a Drag” (clockwise from top left), “BPM,” “Princess Cyd,” “Wonderstruck,” “Souvenir,” “Thelma,” “The Wound”

Philadelphia Film Festival returns with LGBT titles By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com The 26th Philadelphia Film Festival unspools at area venues later this month. Featuring more than 100 features, shorts and documentaries, the festival has something for everyone. For LGBTQ viewers, there are several films to get excited about in this year’s program. “Alaska Is a Drag” is writer/director Shaz Bennett’s feature-length film, based on her award-winning 2012 short. Leo (Philly native Martin L. Washington, Jr.) is a young, gay African-American guy who works at a fish cannery. At work, Kyle (Christopher O’Shea) bullies Leo, but Leo fights back. Leo is also unexpectedly protected by Declan (out actor Matt Dallas), a handsome new arrival in town. Leo’s home life is also complicated: His twin sister Tristen (Maya Washington) is receiving chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s Disease; his mother left for L.A. years ago; and his father is a religious fanatic. Leo’s only

“escape” from his harsh reality is performing in drag. Bennett’s chaste romantic drama is mostly fabulous, even though it is often contrived. Leo shows an affinity for boxing and must compete in the ring on the same day he is performing in a drag contest at Jan’s (Margaret Cho) gay bar. This plotting, of course, forces Leo and Declan to be constantly together, creating an “Is he or isn’t he gay?” romantic tension around Declan. Scenes of the guys sharing a misplaced — or perhaps intended? — kiss generate some of the drama. Unfortunately, Bennett shoehorns too many storylines into her brief running time. Nevertheless, Washington is ingratiating as Leo, and Dallas is pretty dreamy as his potential love interest. “Alaska Is a Drag” is preceded by writer-director Jordan Firstman’s awkward short, “Call Your Father,” about a date between 40-something Greg (Craig Chester) and the decades-younger Josh (Firstman). Viewers may have trouble enduring this comic date for the film’s

20-minute running time as Greg puts up with Josh’s manic antics for reasons that strain credulity. This short is especially disappointing because it gives New Queer Cinema indie darling Chester a thankless role. “BPM” is co-writer/director Robin Campillo’s immersive film about ACT UP in France in 1989. Nathan (Arnaud Valois), who is negative, has just started attending meetings. He — along with viewers — gets caught up in the “actions,” such as disrupting a pharmaceutical company and demanding test results for AIDS drugs. Nathan also soon finds himself attracted to Sean (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart), who is HIV-positive, and they begin a passionate relationship. Campillo’s remarkable film emphasizes how the personal is political. The tender American-indie film “Princess Cyd,” by openly gay writer/director Stephen Cone, has Cyd (Jessie Pinnock), a young woman, unexpectedly connecting with the gender-nonconforming Katie

(Malic White) during an extended stay at her aunt Miranda’s (Rebecca Spencer). The film, a gentle, slow-burn romance, takes its time as Cyd develops a fascination with Katie that includes Cyd dressing up in a tux for a get-together Miranda throws, or dancing with Katie on a balcony for a filmmaker who thinks they are a couple. This unassuming film benefits from such small, quietly powerful moments. It is precisely scenes such as a discussion Miranda and Cyd have in a kitchen that make “Princess Cyd” so special. The Philadelphia Film Festival also gives queer viewers their first chance to see gay filmmaker Todd Haynes’ latest effort, “Wonderstruck,” adapted by out author Brian Selznick from his young-adult novel of the same name. The film chronicles two stories: one set in the 1920s that concerns Rose (Millicent Simmonds), a deaf girl in New Jersey; and the other, set in the 1970s, which features Ben (Oakes Fegley), who suffers hearing loss. Both young adults travel to New York PAGE 30

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City in search of someone. For Rose, it is Lillian Mayhew (Julianne Moore), a silentfilm actress; for Ben, who recently lost his mother, it is Danny, his father, whom he never met. How their stories dovetail form the magic of “Wonderstruck,” which audiences should discover for themselves. What can be revealed is that the film is beautifully lensed by ace cinematographer Ed Lachman. Not to be missed is gay director/cowriter John Trengove’s remarkable feature debut, “The Wound.” Xolani (openly gay musician Nakhane Touré) heads out to the mountains in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, where he will be a caregiver for Kwanda (Niza Jay Ncoyini), a “soft” (read: queer) initiate in a manhood ritual involving circumcision. Xolani is in love with Vija (Bongile Mantsai), another caregiver, who identifies as straight. However, these men meet discreetly and frequently for sex. When the observant Kwanda figures out their secret relationship, it creates a love triangle of sorts. “The Wound” builds to a powerful climax as Xolani must make some difficult decisions and grapple with what it means to be a (gay) man in his Xhosa culture. Touré gives a magnificent performance, conveying Xolani’s fear and desire through his incredible expressions and body language. “The Wound” screening also includes the Indian short “Goddess,” about a closeted lesbian, but this film was not available for preview. “Thelma,” Norway’s Oscar entry, is a hypnotic drama by filmmaker Joachim Trier. Growing up in a Christian fundamentalist household, Thelma (Eili Harboe) is lonely and sheltered when she enters university. After she has a seizure in a study hall, Thelma is unnerved. When she meets and falls for Anja (Kaya Wilkins), Thelma struggles with her same-sex desires; she even tries to pray the gay away. But it is soon revealed, Thelma has telekinetic powers that need to be kept under control. Trier makes expected connections between religion and suppressed desires, which will no doubt prompt comparisons to “Carrie.” But

“Thelma” has a cooler tone. A sequence where Anja holds Thelma’s hand at the ballet is as quietly intense as a scene in which Thelma has an erotic experience from smoking weed. Harboe delivers a compelling performance as the film’s troubled heroine, and she generates both mystery and sympathy in equal measures. Trier’s film is also gorgeously lensed with water, glass and ice imagery being especially striking. Another film that should be of interest to queer viewers is the enchanting romance “Souvenir.” This is the second feature by Belgian filmmaker Bavo Defurne, who made the gay coming-of-age film “North Sea Texas,” and several gay-themed shorts. Liliane (Isabelle Huppert) is a failed European Song Contest singer — she lost to ABBA — now working in a pâté factory. When Jean (Kévin Azaïs), a 22-year-old boxer and coworker, recognizes her, they strike up a tentative friendship. It soon blossoms into a May/December romance. Their relationship, however, has its ups and downs as Jean asks a reluctant Liliane to sing again. He later wants to manage her comeback, which introduces some complications. A throwback to the films of Douglas Sirk, which inspired Defurne, “Souvenir” shows how the lonely Liliane develops a new sense of self. Defurne’s film is highly stylized with vibrant colors and modern interiors. The incomparable Huppert gets to sing a few songs and model some fabulous dresses, but it is her sly, expressive performance that really dazzles. In support, the hunky, lovesick Azaïs is charming. Lastly, this year the Philadelphia Film Festival is paying tribute to the late, great Jonathan Demme, with a retrospective that includes screenings of his locally made films. Of course, this gives viewers another chance to see “Philadelphia” on the big screen. Tom Hanks gives an Oscar-winning performance as a lawyer seeking justice for being fired because he has HIV. n For tickets, showtimes and venues, visit http://filmadelphia.org/festival/. See you at the movies!

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New film brings ‘Wonder Woman’ origin story back to life By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor Written and directed by lesbian filmmaker Angela Robinson, “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women,” opening Oct. 13 at Ritz Five, is a marvelous “Wonder Woman” origin story. That said, it might not be the one comic-book fans expect. Based on a true story, this stylish period film recounts the polyamorous relationship the comic book’s creator, Dr. William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans), had with his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) and their lover/ student, Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote). Marston generated controversy with his comic books because of their overly sexual and sadomasochistic content. The film depicts Marston defending “Wonder Woman” before offended and censorious child-book advocate Josette Frank (Connie Britton). Flashbacks reveal his polyamorous lifestyle and risqué sexual practices that informed the bondage, dominance, inducement and submission depicted in the comics. The filmmaker convincingly captures the sexual energy between the three lovers, and plays up how the society was not ready to accept such forward-thinking ideas about sexuality and sexual identity. Robinson spoke with PGN about making “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.” PGN: Were you a big fan of “Wonder Woman”? How did this comic inspire you? AR: I totally started as a “Wonder Woman” fan, which is how I came across the story of the Marstons. After I shot “D.E.B.S.,” Jordana Brewster gave me a book on Wonder Woman because she knew I was a fan. I read a chapter on the Marstons and it blew my mind. PGN: What was your intention in relating the Marstons’ story? AR: When I discovered their story, I was really struck by this incredible, unconventional love story at the heart of the “Wonder Woman” comic, and this character I loved. I was especially struck that they raised a family together, and lived together for a number of years. Elizabeth and Olive lived together for another 38 years [after Marston’s death]. That was emotional for me. I wanted to bring that to life. It’s been hidden from history. PGN: “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women” depicts a relationship that, by contemporary (at the time) stan-

dards, was considered inappropriate, unconventional, immoral and illegal. Can you talk about your approach to the film? AR: I really wanted to tell an organic love story between three people as simply as possible, with no judgment or editorializing about what they were doing. It was about how you feel when you fall in love. I wanted to tell it in an engaging and emotional way. I didn’t want to come at it with any self-judgments. They were complicated people. I wanted to approach

Theater & Arts Baby Driver The action-crime film is screened 8 p.m. Oct. 17 at The Trocadero Theater, 1003 Arch St.; 215922-6888. Bret Ernst The comedian seen on “Chelsea Lately” performs Oct. 13-14 at Punch Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St.; 215-606-6555. Cabaret The Arden Theatre Company presents the classic musical about the seedy nightspot in 1929 Berlin through Oct. 22, 40 N. Second St.; 215-922-1122.

their exploration of who they were and what they wanted to do and how they wanted to live. Representation is really important to me. The representations of polyamory or kink are not portrayed as kinky or salacious. I didn’t want to be exploitative at all. I wanted to approach the subject matter in a straightforward and emotional way. PGN: Do you think, as Olive’s boyfriend Brant (Chris Conroy) suggests, that Bill and Elizabeth corrupted Olive? AR: It was really important to me that all of the “antagonists” [Brant, Josette] made good points. I didn’t want to portray them as villains. I wanted to leave it to the audience. I wanted that debate to swirl through the movie. Elizabeth and William are challenged throughout. Should they be doing this? What are they thinking? I didn’t want to authorize their experience. I wanted it to be accessible. What would it be like to be in this situation and make these choices? PGN: The film’s few sex scenes feature costumes, role play and fetishes, but it’s not overly kinky. Can you talk about your intention in depicting these scenes? AR: I was really aware that the history of portraying kink on film is not great. It’s usually portrayed as something sad or sensational, negative or abhorrent. I didn’t want to do that with this film. I didn’t feel that was how they were. For the characters’ explorations of their sexuality, I set up a dialectic between fantasy and reality. When they explore PAGE 33

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Walnut Street Theatre presents Stephen Sondheim’s classic Tony Awardwinning musical through Oct. 22, 825 Walnut St.; 215-574-3550. Gabrielle Union The actor and author of “We’re Going to Need More Wine: Stories That are Funny, Complicated and True” hosts a reading 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at Central Library, 1901 Vine St.; 215-567-4341. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Dance Affiliates and the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts present the worldclass Chicagobased dance company, which returns to Philly after a 10-year absence, Oct. 2021 at Zellerbach Theatre, 3680 Walnut St.; 215898-3900.

WITTY LETTERS: Acclaimed out author, essayist and humorist David Sedaris comes to Philly to regale audiences with all-new stories and observations featuring his biting and sardonic wit, as well as an audience Q&A and book signing, 8 p.m. Oct. 16 at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 250 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, call 215790-5800.

Nikki Glaser The comedian performs Oct. 1921 at Punch Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St.; 215-606-6555. Philadelphia Assembled Initiated by artist Jeanne van Heeswijk, together with hundreds of collaborators from across the city, the project explores Philadelphia’s changing landscape and tells a story of radical communitybuilding and active resistance, through Dec. 10 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel Media Theatre presents the classic American musical through Oct. 22, 104 E. State St., Media; 610-8910100. A Star Wars Celebration The Philly Pops perform a tribute concert to the iconic sci-fi series Oct. 2022 at the Kimmel’s

Verizon Hall, 300 S. Broad St.; 215-8931999.

Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215222-1400.

Wrestling Jerusalem Philadelphia Theatre Company presents the acclaimed solo show by Aaron Davidman that grapples with the complexities of identity, history and social justice Oct. 18-Nov. 5 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St.; 215-9850420.

Ministry and Death Grips The industrialrock band and the alternative hip-hop groups perform 8:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at The Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St.; 800745-3000.

Music Blues Traveler The jam-rock band performs as part of its 30th-anniversary tour 8 p.m. Oct. 13 at TLA, 334 South St.; 215-922-1011. Musiq Soulchild The neo-soul/R&B singer performs 8:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at The Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St.; 800745-3000. Sharon Katz & The Peace Train The out singersongwriter and her band perform 8 p.m. Oct. 14 at World

Max Weinberg The E Street Band drummer and band leader performs 8 p.m. Oct. 17 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215-222-1400. Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions The Mazzy Star singer performs with her solo band 8 p.m. Oct. 18 at TLA, 334 South St.; 215-9221011. The Toadies and Local H The alternativerock bands perform 8:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at TLA, 334 South St.; 215-922-1011. Zedd The EDM artist and producer performs 8:30 p.m. Oct. 1920 at The Electric

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

Cabaret series gets ‘unlucky’ for benefit performance By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com

LATIN-PALOOZA: Superstar pop singer and heartthrob Enrique Iglesias teams up with rapper Pitbull for a tour that is sure to have Philly dancing 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, call 215-389-9543.

Factory, 421 N. Seventh St.; 800745-3000. Ben Folds The alt-rock pianist and singersongwriter performs 9 p.m. Oct. 20 at The Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St.; 215-6253681.

Nightlife Cabaret Vérité VI: Friday The Thirteenth Tom Wilson Weinberg and Andrew Crowley present their cabaret experience 8 p.m. Oct. 13 at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220. Indigo Ball: 2017 The black-tieoptional gala returns 5:30-11 p.m. Oct. 14 at Sofitel Hotel, 120 S. 17th St.; 215569-8300. Puerto Rico Benefit Show A benefit show for a charity in Puerto Rico called ConPRmetidos, featuring

performances by Areola Grande, Zephyra Rivers, Ebony Ali, Allison Wonderland, Leo Gonzales, Bugalú Boogie and Kitty Devereaux, 6-9 p.m. Oct. 14 at Tabu, 200 S. 12th St.; 215-9649675. Porn Stash Local gay comedians Betty Smithsonian and Ralph Andracchio host a panel of comedians to watch random clips of porn and discuss love, sex, relationships, politics, society and anything else, 7-9 p.m. Oct. 14 at Raven Lounge, 1718 Sansom St.; 215840-3577. Bearracuda Philly The largest-attended bear dance party, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Oct. 14 at The Bike Stop, 206 S. Quince St.; 215-627-1662. Bounce: A Qunify LGBTQ Party An LGBTQ party featuring local Philly talent, 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Oct. 20 at Isla Verde Café, 2725 N. American St.; 215-291-9475.

Outta Town The Rocky Horror Show Bucks County Playhouse presents the musical based on the popular film Oct. 13-29, 70 S. Main St.; 215-862-2121. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter The slasher-film sequel is screened 9:45 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610-917-1228. War Games The classic sci-fi film is screened 1:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. The Amazing Kreskin The acclaimed

mentalist performs 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at The Rrazz Room, 385 W. Bridge St., New Hope; 888596-1027. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Bristol Riverside Theatre presents the musical comedy through Oct. 15, 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol; 215-7850100. The Reel Queer Film Series presents: Screaming Queens Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center presents the film about a 1966 trans-rights demonstration at Compton’s Cafeteria, followed by a filmmaker Q&A 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at 522 W. Maple St. in Allentown. n

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.

Songwriters and performers Tom Wilson Weinberg and Andrew Crowley are joining forces again to step on cracks, walk under ladders, open umbrellas indoors and have black cats cross their paths when they present “Cabaret Vérité VI: Friday the Thirteenth.” The latest in their series of cabarets celebrates good songs and good humor, with this edition benefiting William Way LGBT Community Center. Wilson Weinberg said the Friday the 13th theme is more about the date of the show — and not a promise of a horror aesthetic or mood. “We’re trying to separate it from Halloween. We’re poking fun at superstition in a way, so we’re going for comedy rather than gloom,” Wilson Weinberg said. “It’s about good luck, bad luck and superstition.” The duet performance is “classic cabaret,” he added. “It’s a bunch of songs from many sources. Half of them are mine and we’re doing a song by Joan Armatrading and a Stevie Wonder song.” Previous Cabaret Vérité shows, both before and after the last presidential election, incorporated a lot of politically charged humor. For this latest show, Wilson Weinberg said they’re dialing the political jabs back just a bit. “Our last show was mostly a spoof on the new administration and the one before that; we were taking the election to task, WONDER WOMAN from page 32

the fetish, they live their true selves and are liberated; they enter this fantasy space together. Then they crash back down to reality, and the world and the limitations of who they are and who they are allowed to be in the world. Because the end game is “Wonder Woman,” she represents this notion of truth and freedom to be who you are. It all lined up for me. PGN: You include many vivid images from the comic books in the film to “comment” on the action. Can you discuss how you chose those panels? AR: I read through so many “Wonder

the whole process,” he said. “Even this show, which is a little lighter, we can’t resist going into the politics of the day. Andy and I will have plenty of barbs shooting around but I would say, in a certain sense, that we are tired of trashing Trump; it’s like preaching to the choir. Everybody knows what’s going on there and I hope people are reacting.” The political missives that will be included will involve a call to action, Wilson Weinberg said, noting that such messages are sorely needed in both music and comedy today. “I feel that there is a lot of very good satire and anger and humor about this unbelievable moment that we happen to be living in,” he said. “I also think it’s a little easy for people to do that and for people to watch Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel and think they’re engaged and included in it. It’s fine to listen to that stuff and enjoy it, but there also has to be a call to action as part of these routines, and that’s what I don’t see. We all are e-mailing each other about the latest outrage but does that in some way let people off the hook? Part of our message is we want people to engage and do direct things, and we even suggest direct things that people can do.” n

Tom Wilson Weinberg and Andrew Crowley present “Cabaret Vèritè VI: ‘Friday The Thirteenth” to benefit William Way LGBT Community Center, 8 p.m. Oct. 13 at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. For more information or tickets, visit http://cabaretverite.brownpapertickets. com or www.tomwilsonweinberg.com.

Woman” comic books! What’s interesting is that Marston wrote “Wonder Woman” for seven years. He wasn’t a subtle guy. It wasn’t needle-in-a-haystack. It was panel after panel. I wanted to communicate how much and how over-the-top so much of the images are. PGN: Do you think “Wonder Woman” fans will recalibrate how they watch and read her after seeing your film? AR: Because of the renaissance of “Wonder Woman,” I feel it’s the perfect time to go back and look at the ideas and ideals that created her: A true-origin story of this character we all love conjured up by three very-real people. n

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Séamus Egan Tyler: Walking the walk for HIV/AIDS awareness Once upon a time, “AIDS” was a word that was feared by all, from the general population to health practitioners to emergency-service providers. Since the first AIDS case was diagnosed in 1981, more than 600,000 Americans have died of AIDS — more than all the U.S. combat deaths since the beginning of World War I. The disease has fortunately been greatly destigmatized and brought under control, but there’s still much to be done. Although new medical treatments have helped many people living with HIV/AIDS to live longer, there is no cure. Just here in Philly, there are more than 30,000 people living with HIV. Philadelphians are being infected at five times the national average, and more than 50-percent higher than residents of New York City. Despite advances, it is still a serious threat to our communities, and many of our friends, family and neighbors struggling to live with HIV/AIDS are in desperate need of critical life services. Fortunately, there’s help. AIDS Walk/Run Philly 5K is the region’s largest HIV/AIDS fundraiser and awareness event of the year, and raises funds for emergency financial assistance to people living with the disease and organizations providing HIV services in our communities. “Getting to Zero: Zero new infections, Zero deaths, Zero stigma” is the motto this year, and there’s still time for you to help. I had a chance to FaceTime with the charming Séamus Egan Tyler, graphic designer with AIDS Fund. FYI, Tyler, who has the best laugh ever (and voices it frequently), would be my pick if I had to choose a boy crush. PGN: So with a name like Séamus, I guess you’re from a big Italian family? SET:[Laughs] Of course! Italian leprechauns! At least you pronounced it right. I’m surprised at how many people have never heard of the old Irish name. I thought there were more WWE fans out there. PGN: Tell me a little about yourself. You’re a “Joisey” person? SET: [Laughs] Yes, I was born and raised in South Joisey. I lived in Cherry Hill most of my life and moved to South Philly two years ago. I came here to go to art school and I’ve been working for the AIDS Fund for two years. PGN: What was a favorite activity as a kid? SET: There was a public library near our house and I would walk over and borrow as many comic books as I could carry! I loved to read and I was also involved in a lot of musical theater and stuff. PGN: In this creepy age of social media, I was able to look at your mom’s Facebook page and she’s a big sports fan. You as well?

SET: Everyone but me. I was the more artistic one in the family. I was always drawing and painting, acting and singing. PGN: Who was your favorite comic-book character? SET: I mean, I loved Batman. I was convinced I was going to create the next Batman and it’s still in the realm of possibilities! I loved everything from melodramatic romance comics to superheroes to ’zines. PGN: It seems there’s a new Marvel or DC movie or show every day. SET: Yeah, as a younger person that’s what I was into but since moving into the city I’ve been more involved with the smallpress community. I’ve been exposed to a community of makers, which is great. PGN: You presented as female growing up. Was there pushback being a girl into comics? It can be a very misogynistic world. SET: Not really. I was and continue to be a free spirit. So my transcendence of gender norms was perhaps not as alarming to people as it might have been with someone else. [Laughs] There weren’t too many scrutinous eyes looking at me.

PGN: And the family? SET: Um, they’ve been kind of confused! It’s taking a little time for them to come around so I’m giving them a little distance while they work on it, but I make it out for family events. I have two gay uncles in Philly and of course my fabulous queer family of choice. I’ve been involved with the Radical Faeries, which was a big help, finding queer men expressing themselves in many different ways. A lot of non-binary people don’t even realize all the options open to them and then it’s like, “Oh wow! I can do that?” [Laughs] There have been many coming-outs for me! At 16 I was a straight girl into makeup and stuff, but I kind of felt more like a drag queen than a girl getting dressed up. So I always had that information about myself in the back of my head but I didn’t know how it applied. Then in college I realized, Oh, I’m not straight! Then, Oh, I’m not a girl!

PGN: Fun family memory? SET: [Laughs] I don’t think a lot about my family these days! But summertime in Cape May was always fun growing up.

PGN: You’ve been at the AIDS Fund for two years. What’s something you’ve learned? SET: Growing up, my parents were tolerant, but not engaged with LGBT politics even though my uncle died of AIDS. So it was interesting learning about the whole network of support that exists in the city and all the resources that are available and those that aren’t. PGN: It seems like a lot of millennials aren’t aware of the severity of the AIDS epidemic at its height or even now. SET: Yes. Because of my uncle and my desire to learn more about him as I got older, I was pretty aware of the seriousness of the epidemic and its effect. And since then, I’ve learned how poverty and bigotry have had a profound effect on AIDS now. PGN: Did you go to the walk last year? SET: Yes! It was the first one for me and I consider it one of the best days of my life. To see so many people who cared about something that I cared so much about was really moving. To be able to contribute to the cause with my work was incredible. Working at the AIDS Fund was my first real job out of art school and as a trans person to have a fulltime job where people love and respect you as you are is pretty amazing.

PGN: The last couple of years have been big ones for you. SET: Yes! [Laughs] I have several story arcs! I moved to Philly, came out as trans in a Facebook post and found a partner! I’ve identified as genderqueer since about 16, and by the time I was a junior at Moore I realized, Yeah, this is going to be more of a thing than anticipated, so my senior year was about me feeling out myself as a trans person and a young person entering the world. Everyone wants a stronghold on their identity as they embark into the next stage of life. I was really fortunate to have good people at school. Moore is a predominantly women’s college, so I wasn’t sure how it was going to go over, but there weren’t any problems. I’m a pretty feminine transmasculine person so perhaps that helped! PGN: How did your big Facebook announcement go over? SET: Pretty well! Most people were supportive even if they didn’t understand non-binary genders. Like I said, I’m an effeminate person and I presented quite femininely throughout my life so it was not the typical narrative. [Laughs] But what is? There might have been a sliver of negativity, but I focus more on the overwhelming support.

“Oh, trans people are, you know, xyz, whatever.” They just didn’t get it. At the time, I was working at Qdoba and I’d pretend I was at work to sneak over to my girlfriend’s house. So that was my lesbian summer. I wish it had been longer but at least I got a few good lesbian months in! Shortly after that, I really took stock of myself and wanted to identify as a non-binary queer person. It’s been uphill ever since!

PGN: Did you skip the lesbian phase? SET: [Laughs] I had what I like to call my one lesbian summer. It was when I was head-deep in my feminist-theory classes and I was presenting as female. I dated this trans girl for a few months. It’s weird because I have a lot of gay connections in the family: that gay uncle and my mother’s brother who was gay and passed aways of AIDS when I was 2. Yet, when it came to trans people, the family was not about it. They were like,

PGN: How would you describe the walk? SET: It’s such a powerful day. There are people from all walks of life, all generations who come out to support the cause. There are 30 years of history there, from heartache to heroics, people power, love, loss, memories and strength. There’s still something of the stigma where people in society don’t want to talk about AIDS, but at the walk it’s an open topic. You want to remember the past and be a part of the future that’s moving to get us to zero.

PAGE 36

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

PORTRAIT from page 35

PGN: What do you do for fun when not working? SET: I’m a part of the performance-arts community. I’m a drag queen and I go by the name Ron Binary. Last year I participated in the Drag Wars and other competitions. It was a little scary because I didn’t know how the community would react, but I’ve received nothing but love. I even won the Valentine Miss Congeniality award! I also love to hear music around the city. Philly is one of the greatest places to find the DYI-type music scene. I don’t get to do it often, but when I can I like to disconnect from the plugged-in life and get lost in nature. PGN: I understand you also teach? SET: True, I work with Painting with a Twist in New Jersey doing BYOB painting classes. And I’ve also done work as a substitute teacher. PGN: What are the best and worst moments as a sub? SET: Best? I love seeing kids be creative and listening to their sense of humor. They’re just pure emotion and it’s cool to see them existing freely before they learn to suppress their emotions like the rest of us. I used to go into one school and the kids would exclaim, “You look just like Demi Lovato! Are you a rock star?” The worst experience was the week after the Pulse massacre. I was wearing a rainbow ribbon that I made to honor it and I had kids coming up and saying really homophobic things. It was right after I graduated and I really didn’t know how to navigate it. I know that most kids are just repeating things they’ve heard so it’s hard to reprimand or whatever, but there was one girl in particular who had some ugly things to say about the people at Pulse and I just wasn’t prepared to deal with it! PGN: Tell me about your book. SET: I studied graphic illustration in school and wrote a children’s book about a girl who finds a magician’s hat and travels through different dimensions. I’m hoping to do a queer-centric children’s book soon. Last summer I started a new comic book called “Tranpire” about a trans vampire. I was hoping to finish it this summer but I got involved in the drag world instead. PGN: So are you single or shacked up? SET: I have a partner. He’s a very nice boy and we’ve been dating for a year. I’m a polyamorous person but I‘ve been in that relationship for a while. PGN: So how does one woo you? SET: Oh my! Well, I’ve had people in the past who don’t have much going on flock to me like a moth to a flame trying to latch on to my creativity but I’m like, “No, you need to find your own flame and we can light things up together!” So I’m attracted to people who have their own creative personas.

PGN

PGN: Favorite holiday? SET: It’s coming up. Halloween has always been my favorite, always. I love putting on disguises, scaring people and all the creepy things. [Laughs] I put up my decorations on Labor Day! I think the first book I even bought for myself was “Zombieland.” I was in first grade. My dream after I retire is to buy some farmland and build an amazing haunted house! PGN: Is your birthday on Halloween? SET: No! It just says that on Facebook. But it is my tranaversary this week! PGN: Congrats. Ever experience anything supernatural? SET: No! The closest was when we had that mini earthquake here a few years ago. At first I thought it was something otherworldly happening. Unfortunately, I have no psychic abilities. Sad, right? PGN: What was Ron Binary’s best number? SET: Drag Wars had a TV theme week and I did a BDSM “I Love Lucy” number. If you watch the show, Ricky spanks Lucy an awful lot! PGN: What song/genre would people be surprised to find on your iPod? SET: I sing a lot of punk and metal in my performances but people might be surprised to know that I listen to a lot of soft folksy music or old country music. Sufjan Stevens has been my jam this week. PGN: Would you rather have laser vision or X-ray vision? SET: X-ray vision so I could find my stuff! I’m always losing things. PGN: First celebrity crush? SET: Orlando Bloom as Legolas in “Lord of the Rings”! Oh my goodness. I had a big poster of his head in my bedroom. PGN: He was pretty. SET: Yes, I love the pretty boys with long hair. PGN: A painting you’d like to enter? SET: Oooh. It would be fabulous to go into a Hieronymus Bosch painting, like the “Garden of Earthly Delights,” and be amongst the strange and fantastical creatures. Alternatively, it might be cool to live in a Michael Hussar painting. He has a really dark style and his people are beautiful but grotesque, which would be cool. PGN: Twisted! Will I see you at the walk? SET: Most definitely, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. n For more information about AIDS Walk Philly, visit www.aidswalkphilly.org. To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email portraits05@aol.com.

Q Puzzle Ink, Inc. Across

1. Come quickly 5. “Mamma Mia!” band 9. With mouth wide open 13. Nevada neighbor 14. Get dirty 15. Cold-cock 16. “Bastard out of Carolina” author 19. Oz city shades 20. Prudential alternative 21. Bridal bio word 22. Boot attachment for Jack Twist 23. Bottomless 26. Boat for Gomer? 29. The number of people who like it hot 32. Halliwell’s partner 34. Neeson of _Kinsey_ 36. Neighbor of Kan. 37. “Love, Zena Beth” author 40. Frat boys tap it

41. There is nothing like one in “South Pacific” 42. Item from Ted Casablanca 43. Mapa of “Switched at Birth” 45. MGM cofounder 47. Decent chap 48. Ellen, for one 50. Sixth word of Abe’s address 52. Words of compassion 54. Like the number of an LGBT hotline 59. “Ferocious Romance: What My Encounters With the Right Taught Me About Sex, God and Fury” author 61. Locale of valuable stones 62. “The African Queen” author 63. On ___ with 64. Poet Gidlow 65. Hairy Wall Street pessi-

mist? 66. Pro follower

Down

1. Aerosmith’s “___ (Looks Like a Lady)” 2. “Exotica” director Egoyan 3. Internally pink 4. “Our Town” writer Wilder 5. Judd of “Frida” 6. “Gay Priest” author Malcolm 7. Antigay prejudice, e.g. 8. “I Could Have Danced ___ Night” 9. Foucault’s farewells 10. Ted Allen, for example 11. “8 Women” director Francois 12. Rowlands of “An Early Frost” 17. ___ kwon do 18. Race unit 22. Navratilova, for one 23. Drink of Nureyev’s land 24. Plath

poetry collection 25. Some Broadway employees 27. You must remember this 28. ___ Coyote 30. “Chicago” producer Neil 31. “Your Movie Sucks” author Roger 33. Composer Rorem 35. Mardi Gras mo., often 38. Highsmith title condiment 39. Contest for sweaty guys 44. Eye bank donation 46. Karen of

“Will & Grace” 49. Cruising locale 51. Shine, in ad-speak 52. “Spamalot” writer Eric 53. Unresponsive to a come-on 54. Buster Brown’s bulldog 55. Top draft level 56. Talk show cohost Kelly 57. Coup target, to Cocteau 58. Pound of verse 60. Queen in “Romeo and Juliet”

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OCTOBER IS LGBT HISTORY MONTH.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Oct. 13-19, 2017

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VENTNOR, NJ House for sale in Ventnor NJ. 2 story 5 bedroom house, needs some repairs. Priced right. Call 215 468 9166. ________________________________________41-49 Studio for Sale for $150,000 at Kennedy House Co-op. 19th at JFK. (Price includes tenant rent).The maintenance for 2018 is about 375/mo which includes maintenance, free utilities and cable, and taxes. Unit is 400 Square Feet, High Floor North View, and has a large Balcony. The building has a rooftop pool “free” for residents, and is full service with 24 hours security and concierge desk. The kitchen is renovated, with modern cabinets, euro-style sink, new appliances and granite tops. The lobby and the bathroom have marble floors. The bathroom has been updated. There is 15 running feet of closet space. There is a tenant in the unit until July 5, 2018. You would move in after that. The rent is in the range of 300/mo and should yield about 9 k. There is a fee due to the Kennedy House to move. Parking in the building. Contact me for showing and more details. Chris V, E-Mail:Phlproperty1@ gmail.com or call 215-327-9041. ________________________________________41-41

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Our history is full of people speaking out.

Court of Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia, September Term, 2017, No. 1070. Notice is hereby given that on September 12, 2017, the petition of Annie Wood Graves was filed, praying for a decree to change petitioner’s name to Alex Wood Graves. The Court has fixed November 22, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. in Room 691, City Hall, Philadelphia, PA for hearing. 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. Attorney for Petitioner Jerner & Palmer, P.C. 5401 Wissahickon Ave. Phila., PA 19144 (215) 843-6000 ________________________________________41-41

Real Estate Rent 1304 N. 19TH ST Large 2 BR apt. on 2nd floor, W/D, nice kitchen, on street parking. Call 215-242-8808. _____________________________________________41-42

Friends Men LOOKING FOR ROMANCE Attractive GWM, warm, sensitive, caring, 48 y.o. with a smooth gymnast build looking for other GWM, 30-50, who is also in good shape. I live in NE Phila. I’m looking for guys who are also sensitive, caring with a fun personality. If this sounds interesting to you feel free to call me, David, 215-698-0215. ________________________________________41-50 WM, NE Phila. If you’re looking for hot action, call 215-934-5309. No calls after 11 PM. ________________________________________41-42 Philip C, Bruce A, and Michael S: I love you to the moon and back”. Please text Theodore Michael Gagnon @ 267966-5469. 202 Roberts Road. Love Teddy Boy. _____________________________________________41-41 Bi WM over 60, Center City looking fir friendship and erotic interludes with other bi and gay males of similar age. Cannot entertain. Easygoing, passionate and loves to laugh. Give me a call with your phone number and a good time to call and connect. I have voice mail. 215-925-8594. _____________________________________________41-41

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