QSaltLake Magazine - Issue 337 - July 2022

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news The top national and world news since last issue you should know

BY CRAIG OGAN

State Farm is no longer there Niche marketing during June Pride Month has riled some of State Farm’s good neighbors.

Media reports and inquiries from customers and others about the company’s distribution of LGBTQ-themed books to teachers, community centers, and libraries, explicitly targeting children as young as kindergartners have forced the company to abandon the program. State Farm informed agents it was canceling a collaboration with GenderCool, an organization promoting LGBTQ teaching via speaking events, mentorship programs, DEI/HR consulting, and advising for parents of transgender children.

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gium. Some U.S. cases have been traced to a Mr. Leather Competition in Chicago. Two of the 50 cases reported in North America are in Salt Lake County, Utah. Might be hard to explain those cold sores at Elders Quorum.

Spacey can’t catch a break As some of the charges and civil actions about Kevin Spacey’s ill-mannered comeons in bars, at parties, and on movie sets are going away, British prosecutors just authorized several counts of sexual assault charges against the actor. The incidents, four counts of sexual assault against three men, as well as another count of “causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent,” is alleged to have taken place in Great Britain between March 2005 and April 2013. The U.S. charges, dating as far back as 1986, have been dropped, dismissed, or settled. Except for some self-flagellation on YouTube, Spacey has been absent from theatrical work. He has two projects showing at the Cannes Film Festival and two other streaming movies in the works. MeToo Karma may get these canceled, as well

Stop monkeying around Just when men who used to be called gay have started to lose the stigma of HIV-AIDS, here comes monkeypox. A small outbreak in Europe and an even smaller outbreak in North America may be spreading through sexual contact. The World Health Organization says cases have mainly been identified amongst “men who have sex with men.” Monkeypox is normally limited to West and Central Africa. The outbreak in Europe has been traced to “raves” in Barcelona and a “fetish” festival in Bel-

der figure. However, actress and LGBTQ rights activist Laverne Cox is officially the first transgender person to have a Barbie doll named after her. Cox was praised

by Barbie maker Mattel for her ability to move “beyond societal expectations to live more authentically.” The Cox doll comes in a crimson corset worn over a gown and a silver jumpsuit. It is not an exact likeness of Cox but, in the tradition of Barbie’s bustline, is symbolically “monumental.” The Cox Barbie is currently among the best-selling dolls on Amazon.

Incidentally, Ryan Gosling has been announced as Ken in an upcoming “Barbie” movie.

Many people, on personal inspection of the Ken Doll in the Barbie line, figured Ken was the first transgen-

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gender identity. EV encouraged people to boycott the event, saying the Pride Month reception, announced 48 hours in advance, is offensive and opportunistic. James Millner, of Virginia Pride was invited to the reception but refused to attend. He says that while he’s suspicious of, God forbid, the governor playing politics, he’d be willing to engage with the Republicans if they made sincere overtures toward the community.

Hanks would be yanked from Philadelphia Actor Tom Hanks won an Oscar for his role in the 1993 movie “Philadelphia” as a gay man with AIDS. He told the New York Times that if the production were created today, a straight actor wouldn’t be cast in that role. Even one as good as him. Hanks looked back on his part in groundbreaking films. He called both “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump” (1994) “timely movies, at the time, that you might not be able to make now.” He did not opine on Antonio Banderas being cast as his romantic partner in the film.

Virginia Gov’s Pride spurned

We thought it was Ken

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Virginia’s governor has been accused of using “LGBTQ+ people during Pride Month as pawns in his political game” for hosting a Pride celebration. Equality Virginia says the governor does not support same-sex marriage, supported “license to discriminate” laws and opposes transgender kids competing in school sports on the teams that best fit their

Cheer squad mixes it up She said even her best friends didn’t know she was a transgender woman, but they all do now. The Carolina Panthers professional football team chose Justine Lindsay as a member of the “TopCats” cheerleading squad. She is the first openly transgender cheerleader in the NFL. She actually did the outing by announcing on social media.

“This is a moment I will never forget and I cannot wait to show you all what this girl has to bring,” she wrote. The director of the cheerleading squad said that it was not niche marketing, but Lindsay’s skills that landed her place on the team.

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State legislature LGBT activity — pro and con PRO — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives unanimously voted to eliminate the word “homosexuality” from the state’s criminal code.

Republican State Rep.Todd Stephens introduced the bill, saying, “Eliminating this archaic language will also help promote a culture of acceptance and inclusion for our LGBTQ community across Pennsylvania.” This is Stephens’ second attempt to revise Pennsylvania’s law against sex work defining sexual activity as “homosexual and other deviate sexual relations.”

CON — Florida’s governor said he would consider signing a law sanctioning parents who take their children to drag shows. Legislation is proposed to charge parents with felonies and terminate parental rights for bringing a child to a drag show. The governor said, “We have child protective statutes on the books. We have laws against child endangerment.” He referenced a video of the “Drag the Kids to Pride” event in Dallas, Texas, which sparked political outrage. “You had these very young kids, they must have been 9, 10 years old at a ‘drag show’ where they were putting money in performers’ underwear. That is totally inappropriate,” he said.

CON — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards allowed a bill that regulates transgender women in competing in school sports programs with cisgender females, to become law without his signature.

Louisiana is now the 18th state to pass a transgender school sports law. Edwards, a moderate Democrat, vetoed a similar bill in 2021. Legislators passed this year’s bill with a veto-proof majority.

The law, targeting any school

which receives state funding, does not affect intramural sports or restrict participation by transgender men in “men’s sports programs.”

LGBT primary election wins Primary elections resulted in some notable wins for LGBTQ+ candidates.

ZOOEY ZEPHYR, MISSOULA, MONTANA, a bisexual transgender woman, won the Democratic primary in Montana House of Representatives District 100. Missoula is a university town and is considered a Democratic Party stronghold. ZZ is expected to TOP the GOP candidate ANDREA OLSEN, MISSOULA, MONTANA, the incumbent in ZZ’s race, chose to run for state Senate instead.

The noted straight ally won her primary to replace gay Democrat Bryce Bennett who left to join a voting advocacy group in Washington, DC. SJ HOWELL, MISSOULA, MONTANA is likely to become the state’s first nonbinary legislator. Howell is considered a shoo-in for Democrats.

LIZ BENNETT, IOWA, a visible bisexual, left Iowa’s House of Representatives to win

the Democratic primary for the state’s Senate in District 39, in the Cedar Rapids. She will face Republican Edward “Bernie” Hayes. Iowa is voting, mostly, Republican, right now.

ROBERT GARCIA, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA. The mayor of Long Beach, Calif., since 2014, and now he’s running for U.S. House of Representatives in the 42nd Congressional District. In California’s nonpartisan primary, Garcia, a Democrat, received about 45 percent of the vote.

There is no incumbent in the race and Garcia faces a Republican who came in second with 29% of the primary vote.

WILL ROLLINS, PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA. Rollings is another Democrat who advanced in a California primary, this time in a competitive congressional district. Rollins, who is gay, came in second to the Republican in the newly drawn 41st District; which includes the City of Palm Springs.

RICARDO LARA, CALIFORNIA. The incumbent Insurance Commissioner was first elected to the office in 2018.

He finished first among nine candidates in the primary for the statewide office, with 37 percent of the vote.

CHRISTY HOLSTEGE, PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA. Holstege finished first with 50 percent of the vote in the race for California Assembly from District 47. A visible bisexual, Holstege is currently a member of the Palm Springs City Council and served for a time as mayor of the city.

President finds pen and phone for Equality Act Congressional action on the Equality Act, which codifies into law many LGBT protections, is stalled. So, seemingly not to care about being accused of using “LGBTQ+ people during Pride Month as pawns,” he penned a presidential executive order aimed at getting some action on features of the EA announced just prior to a Pride Month reception at the White House.

The order directs the Departments of Health and Human Services, State, Defense, Education, Justice, Transportation, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture to develop plans to protect LGBT rights. The focus will be on ending conversion therapy for gay and lesbians, encouraging gender-affirming therapy for transgender youth and adults, mental health and suicide prevention, job and housing discrimination, and fighting hate crimes. The order also directs independent federal agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue LGBT-friendly guidelines and advisories. The order asks federal departments and agencies to push back through regulatory measures like denial of federal funding and lawsuits against states passing what are considered anti-LGBT laws.

Congress rarely acts to block executive orders, but an order is not law so, the next president can rescind or modify any order as they see fit. Q

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Six Utahns among the 31 arrested in ‘Patriot Front’ Idaho Pride riot attempt The warning signs of potential extremist activities surrounding “Pride in the Park” in Couer d’Alene, Idaho had police on high alert.

In early May at a forum held by ultra-conservative Idaho State Rep. Heather Scott, R-Bonner County, titled “Gameplan to Remove Inappropriate Materials from Our Schools and Libraries,” a socalled patriot group announced plans to “go head-to-head” against the Pride event.

Saying, “If they want to have a war, let it begin here,” the Idaho Panhandle Patriots Riding Club told attendees, “They [the LGBTQ community] are trying to take your children.”

That event went from a gun rally to a prayer rally near the Pride event.

But another group, likely drawn by the news publicity of the event, showed up in force. At least 31 members of the white supremacist group, Patriot Front, piled into the back of a UHaul truck and headed towards the park. A 911 call from a person who witnessed the group climbing into the truck wearing military-like apparel allowed Idaho police to stop the group from moving forward with their plans.

At least six of those men live in Utah, according to police records. Experts estimate that around 300 people consider themselves members of Patriot Front.

Patriot Front was one of two hate groups recruiting new members on the University of Utah campus in 2019. They put up posters and pamphlets around campus with slogans like “Not Stolen, Conquered” — a reference to their claim that white Europeans ‘conquered’ America rather than stole it from indigenous people.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, Patriot Front is responsible for about 80 percent of white supremacist propaganda distributed in the United States. The group has become known for “flash demonstrations” across the country.

This has included leaving flyers at a Black church, stickering an LGBTQ community center, and vandalizing memorials for George Floyd and other inclusiveness murals.

In addition to distributing flyers and stickers, Patriot Front has added stenciled graffiti, banner drops, and the reprogramming of traffic signs to display messages like “Reclaim America” as

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mechanisms for spreading its ideology.

Patriot Front members are required to engage in activism or risk expulsion.

In Utah, the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism has identified 161 occasions when the group promoted its views in cities across Utah from 2020 to 2021, including a demonstration outside the state Capitol with messages that read, “America First” and “Revolution is tradition.”

Retired FBI agent Greg Rogers, who spent 20 years working undercover in militia groups, said the relatively new group made up of men mostly in their 20s and 30s — likely wanted to use the Idaho Pride event as a recruitment tool.

“They’re basically just trying to get notoriety. That’s what this is all about,” Rogers told the Deseret News. “These kinds of groups get a lot of street cred by showing they’re actually doing something.”

Rogers hypothesized the men would have lined up around the park and probably chanted some “nonsense” while being filmed. Members intentionally didn’t bring weapons with them. The worst thing authorities could do to them is not only charge but convict them of a felony so they can’t possess weapons, “which is the most important thing in their entire lives.”

The Utah arrestees are Jared Michael Boyce, 27, of Springville; Branden Mitchel Haney, 35, of Kaysville; Cameron Kathan Pruitt, 23, of Midway; Alexander Nicholai Sisenstein, 27, of Midvale; Dakota Ray Tabler, 29, of West Valley City; and Nathaniel Taylor Whitfield, of Elk Ridge.

Rogers said they’re likely now proud that they were arrested. The misdemeanor charges, he said, will be “pled down to nothing,” as it would be difficult for prosecutors to prove they intended to riot. He said Patriot Front members will spend the next few months bragging about it online.

“These young men in Utah now think they’re the real deal,” he said.

Richard Medina, a geography professor who studies hate groups at the University of Utah, said it’s not clear how big the group’s presence is in Utah.

Utah has generally seen less extremist activity than neighboring states, Medina said. That may be why members based here traveled to Idaho even though there were local pride events.

“They’re leaving the state to do this someplace where they think they

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might be more effective,” he told KUER Radio. “I think there’s a bigger audience for these kinds of anti-pride activities in Idaho.”

Medina said white supremacist groups are trying to appeal to young, white men who are fearful of the changes they’re seeing, including the population becoming less white and the changes in gender perceptions and masculinity.

Ultimately, the six-hour Pride event went on as scheduled, including booths, food, live music, a drag show, and a march of more than 50 people.

At a press conference, Coeur d’Alene Mayor Hammond said the city would not return to “the days of the Aryan nations.”

“We are the same city that

we were last week and that city is a city that respects everyone,” Hammond said.

“We are not a city that wants to discriminate, we are not a city that wishes to bring any hurt on anyone. We will do everything we can to make sure we continue to stay past those types of problems.”

The events took a toll on Pride organizers and the LGBTQ community.

“We have been through so much, so much,” Jessica Mahuron of the North Idaho Pride Alliance, which organized the event, told KREM-TV. “Harassment, and attempts to intimidate on the psychological level, and the truth is if you allow yourself to be intimidated you let them win and what we have shown today is that you will not win.”

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Utah mom kicks out ‘Patriot Front’ son after Idaho arrest One of the Patriot Front extremists was kicked out of his mother’s house after his arrest with dozens of white nationalists allegedly conspiring to provoke violence at an Idaho LGBTQ+ pride event.

Karen Amsden, the mother of Jared Michael Boyce, told The Daily Beast that her son had struggled since his father left their family years ago and came out as gay, and she said she was going public in hopes of damaging her son’s reputation in the group and finally cut ties with white nationalism.

“I would love to do whatever I can to out him [as a Patriot Front member] so that he can’t be a part of it,” Amsden said, “and that they don’t want him to be a part of their group because his mom has loose lips and a big mouth and he’s never going to get away with anything.”

Amsden said her son

had vowed to remain with the group after his release from jail, so she gave him an ultimatum.

“I told him, ‘Well, then you can’t live here. You can choose between Patriot Front and your family,’” she said, “and he’s like, ‘Well, I can’t quit Patriot Front.’ I’m like, ‘Well, then you’ve just chosen. So pack your stuff and get out of my house.’”

Police said the 27-year-old from Springville, Utah, was among 31 masked men from various states who were spotted climbing into a U-Haul truck packed with riot gear, shields and a smoke grenade, along with an “operations plan” for a possibly violent confrontation at the parade.

“He’s so misguided and bought into all their rhetoric, it just makes me sick,” Amsden said. “This is not who I raised. This is not the example that was set for him.” Q

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Utah families file lawsuit challenging ban on transgender girls playing school sports Two Utah families filed a legal challenge in Utah state court Tuesday against House Bill 11, which prohibits transgender girls from competing in school sports.

The law, which the Legislature enacted over Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto, singles out transgender girls in order to exclude them from girls’ sports. It bars every transgender girl from competing on a girls’ team regardless of her medical care or individual circumstances.

The students included in the challenge are transgender girls who are current public-school students, love sports, and want to participate in sports with other girls. The families of these children are proceeding anonymously to protect their children. They include Jenny Roe, a 16-year-old high school junior who wants to play volleyball her senior year and Jane Noe, a 13-year-old swimmer. If HB11 is allowed to go into effect, these children will be barred from playing the sports they love.

“My last season playing volleyball was one of the best times of my life. I loved my teammates, felt part of something bigger than myself, and finally had a way to socialize with friends after being cooped up during the pandemic, Jenny Roe said. “This law devastated me. I just want to play on a team like any other kid.”

“It feels like an attack on our family,” Jenny’s mother, Debbie Roe added.

“Parents want their kids to be happy and to be surrounded by people who love and nurture them. This law does the opposite — it tells my daughter that she doesn’t belong and that she is unworthy of having the same opportunities as other students at her school.”

“As parents, we want our children to be healthy and happy,” said Jean Noe, mother of 13-year-old Jane Noe. “My husband and I love Utah and our children have benefited from living here. This law changes all of that and we are having serious conversations, for the first time, about whether we can stay here. It is deeply unsettling that the state would want to strip our child of the love and support she has received from her teammates, coaches, and entire sports community.”

“This law bans transgender girls from competing with other girls in every sport, at every grade level, and regardless of each girl’s individual circumstances,” said Justice Christine Durham, former Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court and senior of counsel at Wilson Sonsini. “It cannot survive constitutional scrutiny and it endangers transgender children.”

By singling out transgender girls for disfavored treatment, the children and their families allege, HB11 violates multiple provisions of the Utah Constitution.

HB11 is one of hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills pushed in state legislatures across the country in 2022. Health care organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association have opposed such legislation, as has the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education.

Prior to the passage of HB11, the Utah High School Activities Association had guidelines governing the participation of transgender students in school sports. UHSAA provided information during the legislative session that only four transgender students had even used their process and that they had not had any complaints from students, families, or school administrators. Of the 75,000 students who play high school sports in Utah, only four are transgender and only one had played on a girls’ team.

HB11 sponsor Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan wrote in a statement that the bill was aimed at protecting girls’ sports.

“The lawsuit filed today is not surprising, as such actions have been threatened since the beginning. My goal has always been to protect girls sports and female athletes across the state and I hope the courts will recognize that and uphold the legislation,” Birkeland wrote.

Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, bypassed all standard legislative procedures on the final day of the session and was able to pass an all-out ban on transgender girls in school sports. The original version of the bill proposed by Birkeland sought to create a commission to decide if each child can play — a proposal that will still take effect if the ban gets halted.

“HB11 is trying to protect two things:

safety and the integrity of competition,” McCay said in a statement. “It is our responsibility as lawmakers to pass legislation that ensures women still have a place in their sport. HB11 does just that. At times, litigation is part of the process, and we will work within the legal system to get answers.”

Utah Sen. Curt Bramble wrote that if the lawsuit is successful against HB11, a second part of the bill “puts Utah ahead of the curve by creating an unbiased, data-driven commission,

continuing to protect female athletes.”

“All kids deserve fair opportunities,” Bramble said, “however, we must acknowledge the fact that biological boys and girls are built differently. HB11 doesn’t prevent athletes from competing as they can still compete against their same biological gender. The intention of HB11 is to preserve women’s sports and protect future athletic opportunities.”

The suit states that HB11 “is based on unfounded stereotypes, fears, and misconceptions about girls who are transgender. It is not supported by medical or scientific evidence,” and that if HB11 goes into effect, the girls will “be denied an equal opportunity to play school sports on the same terms as other girls. The Ban stigmatizes and discriminates against Plaintiffs because they are transgender girls, singles them out for less favorable treatment than other girls, denies them equal educational opportunities, and subjects them to serious adverse effects on their physical and mental health.”

The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Utah, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Q

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ment on Facebook in support of the city manager’s decision and debunking a number of issues brought up by Tanner.

Randall wrote that the “We’re Here” producers fulfilled the requirements for a special event permit from the city, and the city had no valid reason to deny the event. She said the city might have faced litigation for refusing the event.

The city, she wrote, did impose various restrictions on the event that producers and all involved complied with.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Drag show and police Pride post divide St. George A Facebook post by the St. George Police Department and a decision to approve a permit for an event to tape a drag show had city residents flood a city council meeting.

One city council member was up in arms over a police department Facebook post with a graphic reading, “No hate, Just love. Happy Pride from the St. George Police Department.”

Online response to the post was divided between the many who thanked the police department for its support of the Pride Month and a few who decried the post, saying the department should stay away from identity politics.

St. George Council Member Michelle Tanner added fuel to the divide by posting, “What does celebrating someone’s sexuality have to do with our police department? Who’s running this social media page, and why are our tax dollars being spent to promote someone’s sexuality?”

City council member Danielle Larkin was supportive of the post, saying, “As long as there are those amongst us who do not feel safe simply existing as

themselves in public, we have a responsibility to reach out in LOVE to let them know that they are safe with us,” and “May we celebrate PRIDE MONTH in the spirit of healing and inclusion, honoring the right of every American to live authentically and freely.”

Then, a decision to approve a special event permit for a drag show had a mayor and city manager defending their actions. The drag show, sponsored by HBO’s “We’re Here” reality show, drew concerns from Tanner and some residents.

DRAG SHOW PUSHBACK Councilmember Michelle Tanner penned a letter to City Manager Adam Lenhard saying she disapproved of the event taking place at St. George Town Square.

“The location requested and approved

by City Management, downtown St. George next to the Children’s Museum, next to the children’s splash pad area and lazy river, as well as close to the children’s carousel, is not suited for the HBO series, We’re Here,” Tanner wrote.

In response to the letter and social media around the event, St. George Mayor Michele Randall posted a state-

Out of fear that the event might be canceled, Pride of Southern Utah called for support for the event at the St. George City Council meeting, drawing a large response overwhelmingly in favor of the show.

Individuals were given three minutes to speak at the meeting for nearly an hour.

Only two people spoke against the drag show and the promotion of Pride Month in general. The rest offered pleas to the City Council to allow the drag show to continue and show support for the LGBTQ community rather than condemnation.

“Having this event sends a message that all are welcomed here. It’s not a political statement,” said Linda Stay, a longtime LGBTQ-plus advocate, and mother of three gay children.

Transgender man August Carter Nelson shook with emotion as he spoke to the council.

“Some people think we are responsible for the downfall of society,” he said.

“Being trans is something I have to deal with every single day, and I am terrified to stand in front of you and say that.”

“If I don’t come up here, how else will people know there is a need for change? Being able to stand by and do nothing is not a luxury I am able to afford,” he continued.

Nelson said those who choose not to stand up and voice opposition to bigotry are lending their silent support to it.

“You’re letting queer people know you don’t care about what is happening to them,” he said. “You are the reason I am scared for my future.”

St. George gay activist Chris McArdle said there is a lot of love in St. George for all people.

“There’s so much love in our community, and it astounds me that someone could possibly be against us gathering

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for anything. We stand for love and acceptance,” he told St. George News.

THE SHOW Nearly 2,000 people of all ages attended the concert, which is part of a reality television series on HBO featuring former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara, and Shangela Laquifa Wadley.

In the series, the drag queens travel across the United States to recruit small-town residents to participate in one-night-only drag shows. A St. George’s resident who goes by the name Tonilicioius joined the show on stage.

“It’s hard,” Toniliciois said. “There will be days where you stand in front of the mirror crying because who you want to be is someone you feel like you cannot be. You can be who you want to be; please be who you want to be.”

After the show, Tanner wrote a Facebook post saying she wasn’t against the LGBTQ community.

“Contrary to some of the messages I have been receiving labeling me a ‘bigot’ etc. for requesting that a TV-MA HBO show be held in an appropriate mature venue (not a children’s area), I actually support individual rights to live how you want to live,” Tanner wrote. “My brother is gay; I have friends who I love dearly who are gay and I have always supported them. Let’s not confuse the issues here.”

Tanner did not respond when commenters said the event was well after the children’s museum, splash area, and carousel were closed for the night.

Show co-creator Stephen Warren thanked those who went to the city council meeting to support the community and the show.

“There were a number of speakers (at the city council meeting) that said it will literally save lives,” Warren said. “You don’t think that a drag show will save lives. But actually, the reality is that the presence of people out in celebrating life openly does save lives.”

“We’re so happy to do it in this beautiful, majestic community,” Co-creator Johnnie Ingram said. “We have been here in St. George for a week. We have met some of the most open-minded, incredibly nurturing, supportive people in this beautiful physical setting. There is a spirit of community and togetherness that I’ve been very, very impressed with.” Q

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Orem Library denies LGBTQ censorship by city council Social media posts in late May said that the Orem Public Library had been forced by the Orem City Council to remove two “Rainbow Month” displays in the building’s children’s and teen sections. The library’s director says that wasn’t the case.

The Utah Library Association, along with a number of LGBTQ organizations and an Orem City councilperson, issued a statement decrying the perceived censorship.

“The Utah Library Association became aware of a censorship issue at Orem Public Library through social media posts on May 29 which stated that the Orem City Council is forbidding the library from doing any displays in the children’s area related to Pride Month in Utah,” the statement began. “The library director has indicated that in spite of the positive reception and thankful comments from parents last year, there will not be a Pride display in the Children’s wing this year, and instead there will be a single display in another location in the Library away from the children’s area.”

The organization wrote that “it is unacceptable, and a possible infringement of citizen’s first amendment rights, when politicians intervene and direct staff to eliminate planned displays or have them moved to a less frequented area of the library because

those politicians do not like the topic or viewpoint being expressed.”

This year and last, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox issued a proclamation declaring it Pride Month in the state, saying, in part, “we must encourage relevant and vital conversations about what it means to love each other, understand our differences, and support our LGBTQ+ friends and family members.” Cox defended the proclamation, saying, “there should be nothing controversial about supporting a group of people in our state who have historically been marginalized.”

The statement recognized a significant increase in hate crimes in Utah directed against LGBTQ people, saying, “there are real and measurable health and safety impacts to be considered when council members forbid age-appropriate displays of LGBTQ+ materials,” and noted a recent Salt Lake Tribune article reported that “officials and community members worry divisive politics could embolden future attacks.”

In response, Orem Library director Charlene Crozier told Gephardt Daily, “I wish the ULA leadership who drafted Orem City Library Director Charlene Crozier the statement would

have reached out to me for clarification, because it contains false information.”

“It is not an accurate statement to say the Orem City Council has forbidden the Library to have displays in the Children’s area,” Crozier wrote. “To support members of the LGBTQ+ community and provide information and resources during Pride month, a centralized display of materials is available.”

Crozier explained that books for LGBTQ people of all ages can be found in the library and online.

ULA countered in a follow-up statement that one would just need to look at well-publicized statements by Orem City Councilmember Terry Peterson last year.

Peterson penned a letter to fellow

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councilmembers decrying Pride Month displays at the library. In it he said, “No matter your Orem City Councilmember sexual preferTerry Peterson ence, our public money and platforms should not be used to plant ideas and encourage children to question their sexuality and identity.”

“As a lifelong resident of Orem, I couldn’t be more disgusted or outraged,” Peterson continued. “This is not the role of a tax funded library.”

Current and former library staffers, who would not go public with their identities, said that the Library was threatened with budget cuts if the displays were not removed from its children’s areas. Crozier said such statements were “false and inflammatory,” noting the library is slated to get an increase in funding if the 2022–23 budget is passed.

Minutes of City Council meetings are no longer archived on the city’s website as of April of 2021.

ULA wrote that there are no displays of age-appropriate materials in the children or teen sections, despite strong support for last year’s displays. Crozier, in statements last year, had strongly defended the displays, and noted the strong support from community members and parents.

“Those are the facts as we know them,” ULA’s follow-up statement reads. “We stand by our statement, and we encourage the Orem City Council to publicly state that no member of the Council or City government expressed to the Director, whether directly or indirectly, any thoughts about the appropriateness of any library displays related to LGBTQ+ materials or other observance of Utah LGBTQ+ Pride Month.” Q

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Q mmunity Q Lagoon Day 2022 The annual Q Day at Lagoon, which draws thousands of red-shirted lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and other queer thrill-seekers to Farmington, happens Sunday, August 14.

This year, we are at the beautiful Honey Locust Terrace. Bring a picnic or just come take a break with us.

At 4 p.m. at the Honey Locust Terrace, we will have a group photo, which will be printed in the next issue of QSaltLake.

Petunia Pap Smear and other Matrons of Mayhem will be on-hand to play bingo toss with prizes worth dollars.

Official t-shirts will be available at the pavilion for $15 for S–L and $18 for 2X–5X Discount coupons wil be available online Aug. 1.

Sing with the Salt Lake Men’s Choir The Salt Lake Men’s Choir will come back from its summer break on Aug. 4 and singers are welcome to join.

The choir rehearses each Thursday at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 777 S 1300 East, kitty-corner from East High School. No audition is necessary. Show up early to get a guest music book. Info at saltlakemenschoir.org

Equality Utah announces annual Allies Gala The annual fundraiser for Equality Utah, the Allies Gala, will return to the Eccles Theatre on Aug. 27. The keynote host will be transgender actor, comedian, and political advocate Eddie Izzard.

More information at Allies2022.org.

Qsaltlake.com |

A day at the Lake with Seniors Out & Proud /Utah Seniors Out & Proud Utah has reserved the Pratt Pavilion at East Canyon Reservoir for a Day at the Lake.

Bring your paddle boards, water toys, kayaks, float tubes, canoes, etc. They will have many “land” based games and activities as well.

This will be a potluck event and the organization will provide the hot dogs and buns (vegetarian available).

Based on the direction your front door faces, bring North - Salad, veggies or fruit East - Chips, crackers or dessert South - Side Dish (baked beans, deviled eggs, stuffed mushrooms, etc.)

West - Water or soda (12 packs) This is a free event to attend, but there is a per car fee that is collected to enter the state park. It is $10 for those 62 years + (must ask for the senior rate) and $20 for all others, covering up to 8 ppl per vehicle, carpooling is encouraged.

More info at f­ acebook. com/SOAPUtah

Emerald & Ruby Ball in Ogden

Local/Regional Prides The following dates have been announced for upcoming Pride celebration in the region: July 23 Aug. 3–7 Aug. 7 Aug. 14 Aug. 20 Sept. 9–11 Sept. 10 Oct. 7–8

NORTHERN NEVADA PRIDE in Reno, Nev. RENDEZVOUS PRIDE WYO., rendezvouswyoming.org OGDEN PRIDE, Ogden Amphitheater ogdenpride.org Q LAGOON DAY, Lagoon Park, Farmington, Utah PROVO PRIDE, Provo, Utah, fb.me/ProvoPride BOISE PRIDE, Cecil D. Andrus Park, Boise Idaho LOGAN PRIDE, Willow Park, loganpride.org LAS VEGAS PRIDE, LasVegasPride.org

We will update this story as other dates are officially announced.

The Imperial Rainbow Court of Northern Utah Imperial Crown Prince J’lee and Imperial Crown Princess Lucy are hosting a ball to raise money for the group’s HIV/AIDS Christmas Fund.

At the Fraternal Order of Eagles, 975 Wall Ave., Ogden, July 30. Doors at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m.

Event for anyone age 21+ Host Hotel - Comfort Suites, 2250 S. 2500 W., Ogden.

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Those unable to attend can donate at https://irconu. square.site/product/hiv-aidschristmas-fund-donation/5.

Rendezvous, Wyoming’s LGBT Camping Event Rendezvous is Wyoming Equality’s annual camping weekend, that raises funds so they can advocate for and support the LGBTQI+ community in Wyoming.

The funds raised at Rendezvous support LGBTQ youth across Wyoming, it helps us provide travel and larger connections for the students as a respite from their often small communities, it supports suicide and substance use prevention work. Rendezvous also helps the group defend and advocate for LGBTQ Wyomingites rights during legislative sessions and beyond.

The 2022 event will be held Aug. 3–7 near Laramie, Wyoming. Day passes are $50, and the entire event is $150.

Info at bit.ly/3Et6wIo.

2022 Affirmation International Conference Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families & Friends are hosting their annual international conference at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Oct. 7–9.

After two years of being virtual, the conference is returning in person.

More information at ­conference.affirmation.org.

Asexual Awareness Week Utah Asexuals will be hosting Asexual Awareness Week Oct. 24–30. A planning meeting will be held online on July 12. More information at facebook.com/UTAces Q

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Utah Film Center to screen ‘Mama Bears’ at Liberty Park The Utah Film Center sill host an outdoor screening of the documentary “Mama Bears” Friday, July 8 at Liberty Park.

“Mama Bears” is an intimate exploration of two “mama bears” — conservative, Christian mothers Sara Cunningham and Kimberly Shappley who have become fierce advocates for LGBTQ+ people — and a young lesbian, Tammi Terrell Morris, whose struggle for self-acceptance exemplifies why the mama bears movement is so vital.

Spread across the country but connected through private Facebook groups, they call themselves “mama bears” because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people.

Although some may have grown up as fundamentalist, evangelical Christians, mama bears are willing to risk losing friends, family, and faith

communities to keep their offspring safe — even if it challenges their belief systems and rips their worlds apart.

The feature film is preceded by two short films highlighting queer experiences with parenthood from Sundance Institute.

“The Saint of Dry Creek,” which showed at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, is about Patrick Haggerty, who was a teenager in rural Dry Creek, Wash., in the late 1950s. Here, he remembers the day he first had a conversation with his father about being gay.

“The Little Deputy, which showed at Sundance Film Festival in 2015, is a 9-minute Canadian film directed

by Trevor Anderson about him trying to have his photo taken with his father.

Doors open at 8 p.m. and movies begin at dusk.

RSVP for the free film at ­utahfilmcenter.org/ event/mama-bears/

Damn These Heels queer film festival slated for October In response to many festival fans saying July is just too filled with events, the Utah Film Center announced they will move the week-long Damn These Heels queer film

festival to October 14–16.

The event will take place at the Eccles Black Box Theater .

More details will be annouinced at damntheseheels. org as they bocome available.

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18 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NEWS

IF YOU’RE OUT IN PUBLIC AND YOU CAN’T FIGURE OUT A STRANGER’S GENDER, FOLLOW THESE STEPS: 1. DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT.

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Obituary: Robert Ernest Hall DECEMBER 31, 1984 – MAY 18, 2022

Robert Ernest Hall passed away peacefully in his sleep on May 18th, 2022. He was a ridiculously talented, loving soul who collected friends everywhere he went. His superpowers included but were not limited to: playing the piano by ear, picking up any instrument and figuring out how to play it (except the trombone), restoring painted molding and banisters, quilting, Thanksgiving meals that Martha Stewart would have been jealous of, boosting someone’s confidence with a haircut or up-do, impeccable style, bringing down the house at karaoke, pairing a cigar with a person, and making you feel like you’re the most important person in the world. And hugs.

He spent his entire short life working to make the world better for everyone else, sometimes to his detriment. His selflessness could exhaust him to the extent that his husband would sometimes find him curled in a ball in a corner, but it never stopped him from giving his entire soul to others. The light and warmth he exuded would envelop you and wipe all your worries away. There will forever be an emptiness in our lives now that he’s gone, but his warmth will never leave our broken hearts.

Waiting to hug him when he passed were his adoring Mamaw, dirty old bird friend Val Mansfield, stickler for propriety Sister (John) Bennett, and the best father he ever had, Bruce Gowen.

He is survived by his beloved second moms, Johnnie Mae Martin and Karen Gowen. Sisters-in-law Lauren, Jessica, Erin, Natalie, Brenda, Shauna, and Autumn, who together bonded over the quirks of marrying into this overwhelming family. Cousin Elizabeth, with whom he’d spend hours on the phone. Special needs dog Chip and rambunctious Woodford, and his adoring husband, Billy Gowen.

A memorial service was held yesterday in Duluth, Minn., and another one will be July 16 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 261 S. 900 East, in Salt Lake City.

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THANK YOU TO OUR PRIDE WEEK SPONSORS

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views

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quotes Pride Month in Utah “In Utah, we strive to sustain a culture of hope, love, understanding, and respect by celebrating our common humanity.

This #PRIDE Month, let us all work to be more inclusive and accepting of the LGBTQ+ members of our community.”

— Utah Gov. Spencer Cox

“Happy #Pride2022. May we continue the fight for love, equality and freedom for all.”

—Utah Jazz

“I had an amazing day yesterday surrounded by — and celebrating — LOVE! This year’s #UtahPride Festival was one for the books with thousands of people showing up to love, support and embrace one another.”

— Rep. Rosemary Lesser, MD

“Pride will be always be protest, celebrating out and proud is a vital form of protest, especially with recent anti-LGBTQ+ actions across Utah. We had a great time participating and celebrating this year’s Pride!”

— ACLU of Utah

“#Pride is one of the best & biggest parades of the year in Utah — thank you Republican U.S. Senate candidate @ beckyforutah for joining us today.”

—Kael Weston, U.S. Senate candidate

“I legit started to cry when I saw @nuskin’s parade entry in the Utah Pride parade. 90 coworkers were there.”

— Photographer David Daniels

“There are many things that are not written in the Constitution, which could lead to an unraveling of many rights, including marriage equality. He [Alito] says that abortion is not deeply rooted in the history of the United States, but you could say that about quite a lot of things. Until 2015, in many states, you could not marry a person of the same sex.”

— Melissa Murray, New York University

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who’s your daddy

Mental fortitude

BY CHRISTOPHER KATIS

Maintaining

good health when you’re a parent can be a struggle.

Time constraints and busy schedules can mess with your body, while the added stress isn’t doing you any favors.

So, it’s probably not a surprise to learn that during the pandemic, the physical and mental health of parents suffered.

According to a study by the American Psychological Association, during the pandemic, 80 percent of fathers and 66 percent of mothers reported unwanted weight gain, while 87 percent of dads and 77 percent of moms had sleeping problems. To cope with all the stress, 48 percent of the guys and 29 percent of the women turned to drink more alcohol.

LGBTQ+ parents have the added stressors associated with raising children in a “non-traditional” family that can impact our mental health. What’s interesting — although not part of the APA study — is that queer parents generally don’t seem to display any greater mental health symptoms than straight ones.

According to research conducted by Rachel Farr, Ph.D., and Casey Vasquez at the University of Kentucky, there was no difference over a five-year period in mental health symptoms between lesbian, gay, and straight parents. Dr. Farr said, “This may point to heightened resilience among lesbian and gay parents given that their experiences are occurring in the context of persistent and ongoing cultural stigma and discrimination.”

That’s right, all the crap we’ve had to deal with for simply being gay may actually make us more resilient when it comes to our mental health. There are several possibilities why this might be, based on this study and other research coming out of Dr. Farr’s lab.

“An example of this resiliency manifested in everyday life is through a strong sense of self-worth and positive identity, including one’s LGBTQ+ identity,” Dr. Farr noted. “Another is

through effective coping strategies.

Positive coping can minimize the negative health impacts of experiencing stigma and discrimination by lessening the chances that these experiences are internalized. Focusing on what can be changed, such as attitudes, actions, or emotions, can be beneficial,” she said.

And our resiliency may actually help our kids, as well. According to Dr. Farr, other research about similar topics has shown that kids of LGBTQ+ parents may benefit through parenting practices that seem to provide them with unique skills such as dealing with stigma and discrimination.

“These parents are able to draw from a variety of other practical and emotional resources in their life, being buffered by the positive effects of social support from partners, friends, and family – including chosen family,” Dr. Farr added. The research also indicates that being raised in queer families frequently instills in kids positive attitudes about inclusivity and openness to diversity.

But kids of gay parents can also experience cultural stigmas. It’s not unusual for them to be teased, bullied, excluded, or ostracized on the basis of their families. I remember one birthday party at our house that a boy our son considered a good friend wasn’t allowed to attend because of his parents’ “deeply held religious beliefs.” Our kid just rolled with the punches. When I apologized, he told me I hadn’t done anything wrong — the other kids’ parents were at fault.

When the pandemic hit, no one had any idea just how detrimental to everyone it would be. I did put on a couple of pounds, thanks to my new (and abandoned) hobby of baking homemade sourdough bread. But because of the really long doggy walks, those gains weren’t anywhere near the average 45 lbs. added by the dads in the APA study.

In the end, Kelly and I weathered it remarkably well. Who knew that being gay dads would come in so handy! Q

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22 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | VIEWS

creep of the month

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Patriot Front, Mark Burns

BY D’ANNE WITKOWSKI

Pride Month

is halfway over, and what a month it has been so far. It’s awesome to see photos from the many Pride events and marches across the country and the world. It is NOT so awesome to see photos of masked rightwing terrorists who had been planning to “disrupt” a Pride event in Idaho.

According to the Idaho Statesman, 31 men from the group Patriot Front (more like “Patriot Fail,” amirite?) “wearing khakis, blue shirts and coats, white balaclavas and baseball caps” had crammed themselves into a U-Haul with riot gear and paperwork “that appeared similar to a police or military operations plan” and were heading toward the Pride event.

Thankfully, someone saw these losers piling into the U-Haul in a hotel parking lot and called the police to report them, resulting in the crew getting pulled over and taken into custody.

Having just observed the six-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre on June 12, I think it’s safe to say that things have not gotten better in the last six years for LGBTQ+ people in the United States. Or for anybody, really, aside from the handful of billionaires that hoard the bulk of this country’s wealth and get richer no matter how shitty things get for the rest of us.

Since Pulse we have done (checks notes) FUCK ALL about gun violence in the U.S., right-wing domestic terrorists have flourished, and LGBTQ+ people have repeatedly been the target of hatred and political attacks. While most Americans see these three things as very terrible and unacceptable, the Republican Party literally sees them as three things checked off their TO DO list.

Republicans are anti-gun control of any kind, see right-wing extremists as

“the good guys” and Black Americans sick and tired of being murdered by the police as the real enemies. They also continuously push legislation to punish LGBTQ+ people, whether it’s charging the parents of transgender kids with child abuse, banning Drag Queen story time at public libraries, or running candidates who say all LGBTQ+ people should be executed.

That’s today’s Republican party, y’all.

So while I would like to be shocked that a little army of angry and insecure white men were on their way to fuck up Pride, I am not. This is literally the next logical scene in the awful script this country has been writing for years. Frankly, I hate this movie. Alas, I am trapped in it.

Currently running for Congress in South Carolina is Mark Burns, who says the country should execute those who commit treason, which includes Sens Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham for their support of gun control (a completely laughable assertion, as they have both made it very clear that the slaughter of elementary school students is just the cost of doing business in the United Guns of America) and LGBTQ+ people and anyone who supports LGBTQ+ people.

“The LGBT, transgender grooming [of] our children’s minds is a national security threat because it is ultimately designed to destabilize the republic we call the United States of America,” Burns says on one of the many, many right-wing shows that exist on the internet. “That’s why when I’m elected, I don’t want to just vote, I want to start holding people accountable for treason to the Constitution.”

And what should we do with those who commit treason?

“We need to hold people for treason, start having some public hear-

ings, and start executing people who are found guilty for their treasonous acts against the Constitution of the United States of America, just like they did back in 1776,” he says.

It’s a wild thing to say. Especially since Burns, who is Black, has apparently decided to ignore this country’s long history of white mobs acting as judge, jury, and executioner and hanging Black people from trees. Or perhaps he believes in the “critical race theory” propaganda that his party is pushing so hard to literally whitewash U.S. history.

It’s a stretch, to say the least, to say that the U.S. was at its best in the late 1700s.

Burns is not the first, and he won’t be the last, to publicly call for violence against LGBTQ+ people. It’s just that such calls used to come from fringe elements of society, not one of the country’s two major political parties. And in a county that has more guns than people, we know where this leads. People are going to die.

I want everyone to celebrate being themselves and the historic progress LGBTQ+ people have made since Stonewall.

And then, I want us all to channel our energy into ousting every single Republican we can at every level of government, from school board to city council to state races to federal. Our lives depend on it. Q D’Anne Witkowski is a writer living with her wife and son.

She has been writing about LGBTQ+ politics for nearly two decades. Follow her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.

Family Behaviors that Increase Your LGBTQ/Two Spirit (LGBTQ-2S) Child’s Health & Well-Being Research from the Family Acceptance Project® found more than 50 family accepting behaviors that help protect your lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-identified (LGBTQ)/Two Spirit child against health risks like depression, suicide and illegal drug use and help to increase your LGBTQ-2S child’s self-worth, health and well-being. A little change makes a difference in decreasing your child’s isolation and risk and giving them hope that their family will be there for them.

Family support saves lives!

BEHAVIORS THAT HELP...

Tell your LGBTQ-2S/ Require other family Show affection when your child Support your child’s Talk with your child or gender diverse child that members to treat your tells you or when you learn that foster child about their gender diversity your child is LGBTQ-2S you love them child with respect LGBTQ-2S identity and listen Ask your child if – and how you can help them tell other people about their LGBTQ-2S identity

Welcome your child’s LGBTQ-2S friends to your home

Find spiritual groups that welcome your LGBTQ-2S child and family

Participate in activities for families with LGBTQ-2S and gender diverse children to get support for yourself and Tell your LGBTQ-2S/ gender your family and guidance to diverse child that you will be there for them – even if you support your LGBTQ-2S child don’t fully understand

Connect your child with Welcome your child’s LGBTQ-2S partner to family LGBTQ-2S adult role events and activities models

respectfully – even when you feel uncomfortable or think that being gay or transgender is wrong

Bring your child to LGBTQ-2S events

Use your child’s chosen name and the pronoun that matches their gender identity

Teach other families to support LGBTQ-2S children

Talk with your spiritual leader to help your community become supportive of LGBTQ-2S people Express enthusiasm for your child having an LGBTQ-2S/gender diverse partner when they’re ready to date

Get accurate information to educate yourself about your child’s sexual orientation, gender identity and expression

Believe that your child can be a Stand up for your child happy LGBTQ-2S adult – and tell when others mistreat them they will have a good life them because of their LGBTQ-2S identity - at home, at school, in the Speak openly about your community child’s LGBTQ-2S identity

The more of these behaviors that parents and families do, the better your LGBTQ-2S child’s health & well-being

• Better health

• Less likely to be depressed

• Higher self-esteem

• 3 times less likely to attempt suicide

• Stronger social support

• 3 times less likely to think about suicide

• Better family relationships

• Less likely to have substance abuse problems

For more information about acceptance and rejection and your LGBTQ-2S child’s risk & well-being - Family Acceptance Project®: http://familyproject.sfsu.edu In collaboration with Council Oak Training & Evaluation, Inc. Developed with funding from The Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health, a collaborative fund powered by Panorama © 2021 Caitlin Ryan, PhD

24 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | VIEWS

lambda lore

Clap if you believe in Faeries ever been called a fairy? If so, how cool is that? In a world of cyber-assimilation, being called a fairy is a sign that you challenge the status quo. And if you are a Radical Faerie, then watch out!

So what is a “radical” faerie? Well, it’s more than a single person, it’s a 43-yearold movement (consisting mostly of gay men) that seeks to reject hetero-assimilation and redefine gay identity by getting to the root (the “radical” in Radical Faerie) of queer spirituality.

The late great Harry Hay and others founded the movement as the Spiritual Conference for Radical Faeries in Benson, Ariz. in 1979. To give you some context, Hay was one of the founders of the modern Gay Civil Rights movement who formed the Mattachine Society (an early gay rights organization) in 1951.

By the mid-1980s, faerie clusters (that is, groups of Radical Faeries) had appeared in most cities with large gay populations. The organization also established communes in rural areas so they could practice “natural” magick and work towards healing the gay spirit during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Today, Radical Faerie sanctuaries exist in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

In many ways, the Faeries are a modern gay take on the old “Bohemian” countercultures that have manifested themselves in various forms — such as beatniks and hippies — over the years.

Like these bohemians, Radical Faeries eschew the materialistic consumerism and patriarchal aspects of modern gay life and seek to restore healthier alternatives, such as constructs and rituals that celebrate nature and Mother Earth.

Environmental sustainability and spiritual healing are prime directives.

The Radical Faeries descended upon Salt Lake City in the summer of 1989 when I returned from New York City after celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. There, the New

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York Faeries had rented out the basement of the old Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street and were taking guided tours of “10,000 years of Gay History in 20 Minutes” that culminated with throwing foam yellow bricks at the pigs (police officers) while shouting, “Gay Power!”

When I first met the Faeries, it was a hot, hot sticky New York night and they were melting. One came up to me, gave me a $20 bill, and asked if I’d go across

land. Here I knelt as they whacked me with a faerie wand and showered me with glitter. And so I became a Faerie.

Upon returning to Salt Lake City I immediately shared my adventures with friends. While some thought, “Oh brother, here’s another Ben Williams looney tunes escapade,” I could tell that some of the faerie dust was sticking. I sent out a Sufi call to the universe saying an organizational meeting of the Radical Faeries would commence under the July 20th full moon. Three souls showed for the gathering — Connell “Rocky” O’Donovan, Michael Pipkin, and me, of course.

In our circle, we invoke the Gay Spirit to determine the focus of our endeavor

the street and buy as many soft drinks as I could carry for them. I looked the guy in the eye and said, “You asked the right person because I will do it.” He smiled a cute smile at me and said he could tell I was a kindred spirit. After I returned with the sodas, the Faeries showed me the altar of Maybelline beauty products and a shrine to the goddess Judy Gar-

and we did a butterfly spread from the Native American medicine cards to determine a four-year plan for our group. Rocky and I thought of our new group as sort of an urban guerrilla tag team, spray painting pro-gay graffiti, putting up posters, and generally waging “in your face” warfare against patriarchy with our outrageous antics. However, the Butterfly Spread

BY BEN WILLIAMS

Have you

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told us to remain innocent and to become playful like children — harmless and honoring the Spirit which allows everyone to win. We were amazed that the Gay Spirit spoke to our hearts, stating that the ultimate purpose of this Faerie circle was to find a sacred space where gentleness would heal all wounds and where the message of unconditional love could be heard.

Over the next four years, the Sacred Faeries grew to nearly fifty men and women who had their medicine cards read, found their animal guide totem, and took a new Faerie name. Mine was Gayflower Fearnought Butt Love. Others were Hummingbird, Gillian, Skybear, Fuku, Asparagus, Homo Erectus, Apple Star, Puck, Ariel, Little Bull, Sky Rat, Spirit Dancer, Ursus Heribulis, Starry One, Jasper Nightshade and so many more.

Eventually, we published a

‘zine chronicling our antics called the Salt and Sage which we shared with other Faerie Groups across the country.

We met under the full moons to perform magick and feasted at Sabbots to honor the seasonal cycles of nature. We danced sky-clad (buck naked) under moons we called by their traditional forgotten names such as the Honey Moon, the Dragon Fire Moon, and the Blue Moon, the name for two full moons in the same month and a time which is sacred to Faeries.

As Radical Faeries, we embraced the belief of “Do As Ye Wilt and Harm None.” We believed in respect: for Mother Earth by walking lightly upon her and doing little to upset her intricate circle of life, for all living creatures, for the Force which creates galaxies and DNA in spiraling circles, and the law of karma. Ultimately we believed

that true Magick is Love.

Our five Sacred Faerie tenants were: 1. Equality of the sexes is acknowledged through timely rituals linked to the Sun and the Moon.

2. The Earth is our mother and we must take care of her.

3. We are incarnating essences in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

4. Magick is used for life-affirming purposes only and must be in harmony with the laws of nature and the psyche.

5. Missionary tactics are taboo. Faeries are attracted to the call of the Sufi (and the rustling of taffeta). The Gay Spirit will sing to the Gay Spirit.

Our adopted Sacred Faerie Lore held that Faeries hiss when they are happy; Faeries are blue when they are very good; Faeries are mostly vegetarians, making love in their gardens; Faeries

commune regularly with the delvic world and with all plants and animals Sadly, the Sacred Faeries’ glimmer faded away in 1993 with many scattering to the four directions, some passing into new forms of spiritual existence, and some becoming solitary practitioners. But part of our legacy was the newspaper The Pillar founded originally by Sacred Faeries, of which Todd Dayley was one. The name came from the Sacred Faeries stratum of Pillars, a group of faeries converses in enough magick to lead Sabot and Full Moon circle gatherings.

Perhaps after reading this you might get in touch with the little faerie within you.

In fact, a gay men’s group led by Jerry Buie appears to be rekindling the glow of magick. Check them out and remember, the Goddess is alive and Magick is afoot! Q

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BOWEN ON FIRE (ISLAND) He’s here, he’s queer, and now the‘SNL’ juggernaut is the lead in his very first (very gay) film

BY CHRIS AZZOPARDI

Maybe

Bowen Yang will just forever live the Fire Island fantasy wherever he is. Is that what happens when you make a movie in what many consider gay paradise?

Who knows, but based on Yang’s attire on Zoom — a beaded, rainbow-colored flower necklace and a casual white-andblue checkered shirt, his white undershirt exposed — the Australian-born Chinese American actor looks ready to challenge the rich, white gays known for essentially claiming the queer party town, just off the southern shore of Long Island, New York, as their own.

But not in Hulu’s “Fire Island,” a movie that can make us believe it isn’t exclusive to any group as a boatload of intersectional queers — the main friend group is refreshingly Asian American and Black — sail away to the island for more than just wild nights and romantic seashore walks. They know what they’re getting into — drugs, drinking, and all those white gays — and they’re the kind of besties who know exactly what’s on everyone’s Fire Island agenda.

For some, obviously, that’s a little more

RAUL ROMO (PHOTO 1) AND HULU (PHOTOS 2-5).

than a snuggle. For Howie, though, that _is_ a snuggle. Yang plays Howie, and his very good friend Noah (Joel Kim Booster, who wrote the script as a modern retelling of “Pride and Prejudice”) knows that Howie won’t ever be the slut he wants him to be. That, of course, doesn’t stop him from trying to whore out Howie.

After all, that’s just what good friends do! “You’re cute, you’re funny, you’re consistently the least repellent of men out of all of us,” he tells Howie, earnestly.

The same could be said of Yang, who’s gained an avid following since he started writing for “Saturday Night Live” in 2018. Just a year later, when he was promoted to featured cast member, he made history as the first-ever Chinese American cast member (and third openly gay male cast member after Terry Sweeney and John Milhiser).

In a recent conversation, Yang chatted about being a leading man for the first time, not being recognized in a West Hollywood gay bar recently, and infusing his own signature queer flavor into “Saturday Night Live.”

Every time I watch a queer movie, I just wish it existed sooner. Is that like our lot

in audience life? I think we’re just gonna think that for everything. For me, and I don’t mean to undermine this thought, but even if it’s a perfectly fine-to-bad queer movie — not saying that our movie is those things — but add it to the pile!

So the whole time I was watching “Fire Island,” I wanted to know how you got cast as Howie, the non-slutty character?

Specifically the non-slutty part. I think Joel was doing this great thing, which is to map it onto our friendship a bit while also mapping it onto the source material of “Pride and Prejudice” and having it be like Jane and Liz. But then also just outlining the ways that a lot of queer people, and maybe specifically gay men, might not share an organizing principle in that way. Like, there are some people who really go for it and just catch as many Pokémon as they can, so to speak, and there are some who choose not to.

I mean, in my 20s I was definitely a Howie. Oh, and then that shifted?

It did shift. And it feels good. Great. I think maybe that’s in store for me.

In 105 minutes, this film takes on body positivity, prejudiced gays, horny gays,

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non-horny gays, infighting... . Was there a lot of conversation about what this movie would cover? I mean, if you create a liberated space for people, then their thoughts might kind of reach just a bit beyond the pale in a setting outside of that. And so I think Joel’s whole thesis for the movie is “what happens when gay people go to an all-gay space, and then gay people start to bring all their societal baggage onto each other and turn it inward.”

I think he did a great job of balancing all those things. I think he just recognized that Fire Island is this wonderful stew pot full of different kinds of people, and that you get all these different elements to that when everyone co-mingles in that way.

I love that there’s a group of queer people of color who are just like, “Gonna sail over, and you know? This is also our place.” Yeah. And in my experience going there — and I go at least once a year, every summer — it is weirdly still a given that you’re gonna see that it’s a bit dominated by one kind of person.

I’m always really delighted by the people I see there who are there driven by the same sort of mission of just spending time with their queer friends. Going to the beach, just getting away from all the things that sort of bog them down on the mainland.

Did you see “Wine Country”? I did, yes.

So was this your “Wine Country”? Oh my god, I guess so. All “Fire Island” was missing was a Brené Brown cameo. I think the nice thing about this is that it’s like a vacation comedy, obviously, and a rom-com, but I think the way that Joel wanted to map it onto “Pride and Prejudice” is such an ingenious thing.

It’s about the way people relate to each other. It’s about the ways that we stratify each other, or relate to each other based on class, wealth or, in this case, race.

With “Wine Country,” Amy Poehler had said the film was basically a trip those same girls had taken many times before.

Had any of you already experienced “Fire Island” together? Yes, yes. We have. Me, Joel and Matt Rogers had gone in the past. And the idea came out of Joel and I going the first time together. This was 2015, where he brought a copy of “Pride and Prejudice” to the island. And then he and I were reading by the pool

one day, and he just turns to me and goes, “This would make a good movie.

The way that people judge each other is similar. The way that there are all these social gatherings that people sort of get worked up about, it’s all there.”

In some ways, the idea predates the established dynamic that Joel, Matt and I have had there. But I feel like it’s [in] a similar vein in that it’s loosely based on these trips that we’ve taken together. It’s similar to our experiences going there in terms of like, we would go there when we could barely afford it. We [were] 18 people to a three-bedroom house, those kind of “roughing it” early experiences.

Did you, Joel and Matt also meet at a brunch like your characters in the movie did? We did not meet at a brunch. It was at a much more boring place, honestly. And it’s hard to get more boring than brunch.

I’ve never been to Fire Island, but I think I may be more of a P-town gay. Listen, I am about to go there for the first time this summer. And part of me is a little scared that I’m gonna be a turncoat and just fully, like, be a P-town gay for the rest of my life.

What can you say about your part in the upcoming major-studio gay summer rom-com “Bros”? I have a really fun part in that. My character, ironically, lives in Provincetown, so not Fire Island. That might be all I can say. But

I think they’ve been showing clips of it at different events, and it’s getting a really good reception. I really hope people — I’m sure people will see it.

There’s such a great team behind it, and Billy [Eichner, co-writer and star] is just so wonderful. He was so great to work with. I was sort of a day player. I just popped in for a day in between shows at “SNL.” So I was a little disoriented.

But it was just such a lovely experience, and I felt very lucky that I got to do that in addition to “Fire Island,” to be a little witness to all these great [LGBTQ+] movies that are being made.

Was “Fire Island” a loose shoot? You are all so naturally funny, so were there moments of improvisation, and did any of those make the final cut? Plenty of moments of improv made it into the final cut. From, like, Matt specifically. From me, from everybody. I think everybody [added] a little sprinkling in there. Overall, what’s remarkable about that set was that there wasn’t too much breaking. We weren’t out to make each other laugh or crack up. I think we were all there to hit our marks and do the job well. Because it was a very intense situation. A lot of us, you know, [this was] one of our early jobs doing a feature. And I think we all just were kind of focused on delivering.

So maybe in the future, if we all work together again, it’ll be a little bit looser.

But it was pretty regimented. We were

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all very good students, I would say.

Your film career is really taking off, which is exciting. And you got to really create a character for this. I know. This is one of my first experiences doing that.

What was that like for you? Really nice.

I learned so much. And I think this is one of those jobs that I think will carry into future projects, if I’m so lucky to have them. I mean, James Scully, who plays Charlie, and I… this is my first time having a love interest in something.

And he’s someone who is experienced enough as an actor to know how to make that believable onscreen. So we just had a lot of discussions about how to portray that and what these characters would be like after they left the island and what that journey is.

James had the idea to make a playlist.

He was like, “Let’s make the playlist the character would make for the other character.” And that was perfect tone-setting.

Like, these are two very sweet people who are sweet despite everything around them telling them there’s no place for sweetness. That this is about debauchery only. And even at the end of the movie, there’s an open-ended question about whether or not these people will even end up together after they leave the island. And what happens then? But these are two characters who aren’t concerned with that, who aren’t really worried about what’s gonna happen afterwards. Whether it ends badly or well, they just are very present in their connection to each other.

I’m glad you say that because those trips

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to me often feel like they’re suited for that sort of experience — for a little weekend romance. I think the movie does that very well in the end where, again, it’s that open-ended thing. And I don’t think a lot of rom-coms in general do that. It’s a very realistic, authentic sort of representation of that concept. Like, “Maybe this is just a vacation boyfriend. But it’s OK. I’ll still enjoy it.” It’s still a love story, you know?

There’s something really powerful about acknowledging that reality for a lot of people. I think there’s a subtextual thing there in the movie where it’s like, “This is how gay people live, and this is why they come to the island, to experience that, to have the possibility of experiencing that.”

And then if they do, then what happens?

Whose idea was it to sneak in the reference to the “Gays in Space” sketch, which aired on “Saturday Night Live” in 2015? That was Joel. I promise it wasn’t me. I just never pushed back. It was in every draft of the script, and I never pushed back on it. And I was like, it’s so on the nose of me as Bowen saying to a character that he loves “SNL.” But that was a Joel line. And we just kept it in there. But then it got me thinking, like, OK, if Howie and I are similar, in what ways are we similar? Howie doesn’t work at “SNL,” but if I didn’t work at “SNL,” I would probably bring that up, too, at a party, if I was getting to know someone. And there was something somewhat authentic about that. I think Joel was going for that sort of authenticity. It was just, What would Bowen say through the lens of this character?

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While we’re on the topic of “SNL,” I have you to thank, in part, at least, for making a show I grew up with and loved a much queerer experience for me. Oh, that’s very nice. But yes, there are so many other people to thank. It’s people like James Anderson who wrote “Gays in Space,” who left somewhat recently.

Kate McKinnon, obviously, Chris Kelly, who made “The Other Two.” Paula Pell of “Wine Country.” There’s been this pretty rich lineage of queer people at “SNL.” I think now there are more things to index and reference, and I’m just very happy to be a small part of it.

Historically, yes, there are other skits that were queer. But it definitely feels like it’s become much queerer in more recent years. I think we talk about how “SNL” has always been this variety show in the truest sense. There’s something for everyone, or at least there’s something different in every sketch. And certainly, with Kate being there, it’s given people a model for how you infuse queerness into a sketch.

Julio Torres working there around the same time I did was just such a fortuitous thing for me because I was able to understand, “Oh, I can write something.”

When I first started writing there, I was trying to fit into the mold of an “SNL” sketch. I was trying to write a game show sketch or a commercial parody. And then, when Julio and I started working together, he was like, “No, you can do whatever you want. You can make something that’s from your point of view. That makes the show better.”

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Do you have an example of something you wrote from your own POV because of Julio’s influence on you? One of the first sketches I wrote for the show was called “Cheques.” It was a commercial for checks, like these dramatic, soap operatic women just signing checks for misdeeds. That was something Julio and I co-wrote together. We cowrote this sketch called “Sara Lee” with Harry Styles, who’s this social media manager who writes all these thirsty gay captions for Instagram.

That was Julio’s idea, and it wouldn’t have happened without Julio’s assuredness in his own point of view. And it kind of gave me this example to follow, so that by the time he left, I was like, “I guess I can do that on my own, right?”

So yeah, you think all the way back to Terry Sweeney in the ’80s who was doing stuff at a time when gay men were completely stigmatized at every level [in] society. I think there’s been a queer sort of helix in the show for as long as it’s been on.

What about the “Pride Month Song” sketch from last year?

What’s the story behind that? I co-wrote that with Sudi Green and Celeste Yim. Just really funny writers. Queer writers. And we just were talking about how there is this pretty widely acknowledged reality now that I just don’t think we’ve seen on TV of how Pride is kind of exhausting. And it’s kind of not what you expect it to be: You think it’s gonna be this amazing thing and it actually ends up being really stressful and logistically a nightmare and someone has a meltdown at some point. You know, those are the realities of Pride. And there’s still something joyful about that, even so. And maybe that’s the

thing that we kind of look forward to every year. So yeah, that’s where it came out of. And I was, like, listening to Charli XCX’s “Girls Night Out,” and I was like, “Let’s just map it onto this beat.”

Well, that’s your POV, right? My POV! Yeah. She counts.

It seems you’ve become a big name in such a short amount of time. How have you processed what I think is a relatively meteoric rise to notoriety these last few years? I got really lucky in terms of an incremental, segmented ramp-up, maybe?

For me, so far, it’s been manageable at every level. Starting out doing stuff in New York, you kind of are putting yourself out there more and more with every show and every year that you do it. And then Matt and I started this podcast [“Las Culturistas”] together. That kind of got people who didn’t live in New York knowing who we were and connecting with what we were doing. And then going on “SNL,” obviously, kind of broke that open. But I think I’ve gotten some sort of training wheel taken off and there’s multiple sets of training wheels, I guess, in this metaphor. But I think I’ve gotten really nicely acculturated to that. And I’m very grateful.

Can you step into a gay bar in West Hollywood without being conscious of, “I know that there will be eyes on me because I’m Bowen Yang”? It occurs to me that that might be the case, but I went to Hi Tops recently in LA, in West Hollywood, and was ignored at the bar. And I was like, “This is great.” Not that this was great but I was like, “See, there’s something very democratizing about going to a queer space like that where you’re like, ‘That’s why I go:

to feel like a part of something.’” There hasn’t been anything fundamentally different about my reality, which I think is really nice, actually.

What do you want the future of your film career to look like? I hope I get to just do a nice variety of things, across different genres probably. I feel like we’re about to get hit with a bunch of romcoms, and I wouldn’t mind just staying in that lane for as long as possible.

I’m keeping an open mind because people have been

asking me if I expected to be leading a rom-com ever. I was like, “No, no way.” And so I think me sort of keeping my expectations pretty sparse is kind of setting myself up for some delightful stuff in the future. I don’t really have a vision for what that is yet.

And I think that’s OK. Q Chris Azzopardi is the editorial director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard.

Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.

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Johnny Sibilly keeps ascending to new career heights with ‘Queer as Folk’ and ‘Hacks’

BY CHRIS AZZOPARDI

If you

think you’ve heard the name Johnny Sibilly, you have. Or at the very least you’ve seen him, whether on FX’s groundbreaking trans-focused series “Pose,” where the 34-year-old actor had a three-episode stint as Costas Perez, or on HBO’s “Hacks,” appearing alongside Jean Smart in one of last year’s best new shows. That series is currently in its second season (and still just as deliciously queer).

But the show guaranteed to give Sibilly’s profile a generous boost is his role on the reboot of “Queer as Folk,” where he plays Noah, a smoke-and-mirrors lawyer. Groundbreaking when it premiered in the U.K. in 1999 and then in the U.S. in 2000, the show was one of the more authentic representations of LGBTQ+ life when it premiered, spotlighting important political and cultural LGBTQ+ issues alongside frank depictions of queer sex.

Peacock’s new “Queer as Folk” understands what the show was then and what, in 2022, it has to be now. So, naturally, there’s sex. And lots of it. Orgies, toys, full-view anal. Sex that looks real enough for it to appear to be unsimulated.

But this self-proclaimed “reimagining” also knows that being a queer person in our modern day means, in some ways, what it did in 2000: homophobia, fear and acts of anti-queer violence so horrific they hurt your heart. The trailer doesn’t hide the fact that the first episode is a hard, gutting and emotional watch: reminiscent of the Pulse nightclub tragedy in 2016, there’s a shooting at Babylon, the local gay club.

Here, Sibilly talks about the importance of threading that hard-to-watch narrative into this reboot, the detailed conversations the “Folk” crew had about queer sex onset, and why he’ll continue to play queer characters.

How have you been doing? You’ve been really busy. Yeah.

With the pandemic and everything, and being so busy, it’s been truly a blessing. I’m so happy to be working and to be doing this. I’m really grateful.

During the beginning of the pandemic, were you afraid of work drying up? It’s funny. At the beginning of the pandemic, it was like, “Ha, now the rest of the world knows what it feels like to be an actor or an artist, where your job isn’t guaranteed.” And then, after a while, it was like, “Oh, wait. OK. What’s going on?” But then, I remember I got the call for “Hacks,” the first season, and I was like, “Oh, yes. Yes, we’ll do this.” [I filmed] that in the height of the pandemic, and then “Queer as Folk” when things were tapering down. But then, all the variants were another journey, but here we are.

It sounds like the producers of “Hacks” just called you. Or Jean Smart personally called you. (Laughs.) She’s like, “I don’t know who you are, but I think you’d be great.” Yeah, no. “Hacks” was interesting, because it wasn’t... I auditioned for it, but it PHOTO: HBO

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was a Sunday night [when] I got a call asking for my availability, and they asked if I could put something on tape that night to film on Wednesday that week. And then, we got a call on Monday that said I got it. It was pretty quick. “Queer as Folk,” not as much…

What was the process for “Queer as Folk”? For “Queer as Folk,” for me, the process in my head started when I found out that there was going to be a reboot made. Back in 2018... I always tell this story, but I put out a tweet when I found out that they were maybe doing a reboot, and I was like, “Who do you guys think they would cast in the reboot?” People said names like Billy Porter and a lot of the actors that are known in the community.

Flash-forward to the actual thing getting launched and the auditions happening, and I messaged my team, as I usually do when I see something that I really like. I was like, “I got to be a part of this somehow.” The audition came through, and it was funny, because I was sick with a cold when it came through. I was like, “Oh my gosh, can we push it a day or two?”

And they were kind enough to do it.

But yeah, it was that same thing, where you audition, and then you get the call back, and then you do the chemistry session. But it’s a month to two months of your time just waiting to know. And for me, as an actor, I’d rather know right away if it’s a yes or a no, so I can, in my head, deal with that rather than waiting and waiting. Because you build up all these things of like, “My life could change,” or, “This would be so exciting.” But it worked this time.

When I watched “Queer as Folk” as a teenager, the big draw for me then, as a closeted gay kid, was watching guys on screen have sex. And clearly, that’s still a big part of the show. Is gauging sexual chemistry an important part of the audition process? The sexual chemistry, not so much. My only chemistry read was with Devin [Way], who plays Brodie.

And it’s funny, because when I saw him pop on the screen, I was like, “That’s him. That’s the one,” whereas he did a couple of chemistry reads with a couple different Noahs. But it is interesting, because we were doing it on Zoom, too, so you’re not in the room. You don’t feel the vibes of what it would feel like.

But I’d seen Devin before somewhere, PHOTO: PEACOCK

and I was like, “I know this guy, I just don’t know where to place it.” And, come to find out, it was years before. He had come up to me on the street and told me that he liked my Instagram videos, because I used to make character Instagram videos. When he told me that finally, I was like, “That’s where I know you from.”

But anyway, it was just such an easy little flirty scene, that, when you meet a new gay, you’re just like, “Hmm...”

We clicked, and I guess that’s the point of a chemistry read, because I’ve done chemistry reads before where I was like, “Oh, this isn’t really clicking.” But it clicked with Devin and I. What has it been like to be a part of “Hacks” knowing that it treats its queer characters so matter-of-factly? It’s a dream, because the show itself is very much queer-coded, in that there’s a strong female character that is rich. So many things that we grew up loving [about] strong female characters, and then to add in the queer characters, not only the ones that worked with her, but just peppering the universe of “Hacks” with these characters was super exciting and important.

Because maybe years ago, if a show like this was made, that wouldn’t have been the case, but it feels like a very real world.

I feel like Deborah would have queer people around her, and it’s been so exciting not only to play these characters in a way that feels real and authentic, but not just feel also like we’re just thrown in because they needed to fit a quota, or because a lot of things these days get called out for being too woke, or whatnot, which is crazy in and of itself.

But I do love that this show feels like a

reflection of what the world looks like.

What’s your earliest memory of wanting to be an actor? I was always a little rascal, I will say. I loved doing impersonations. When I used to watch “Forrest Gump,” I used to go around the house and be like, “My name’s Forrest, Forrest Gump,” and whenever we’d go out, my mom’s like, “Do the Forrest Gump. Do it.” And she’d always push me to do it.

I remember one year, I was signing up for classes for seventh grade, and she’s like, “Why don’t you do drama?” And I was like, “I want to do French,” because all the cool kids were doing French. And she’s like, “Yeah, but you’re always doing characters and things. You should do drama.” And I’m glad that she said that, because it really took me to a place that I needed to be, especially at that point in my life, when sexuality started playing a role in my confidence. I was a very vibrant little kid, and then as I started realizing I was queer, I became the shy kid. Acting and drama really allowed me to spread my wings and show myself in a way that didn’t feel like I was attached to my sexuality and hiding that anymore.

Did you find yourself finding a community within the acting and drama worlds? 100%.

I never was that kid that played in the street with friends. I was in my room watching Joan Rivers on the red carpet, and I knew everything there was to know about celebrity culture, but I wasn’t one of these kids that played hideand-seek in the neighborhood. Drama really offered me a place and a space to create friendships and camaraderie and family with people that were like me. Not only queer people, but artists as well.

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ping our season that we just shot, I went back and started watching the Showtime episodes again, because I missed it. I missed telling the queer story, so I was like, “What can I watch that’s going to bring me that same kind of feeling?” And it just happened to be “Queer as Folk.”

Where did you go to drama school? I did a little bit in college. I grew up mostly in Miami, so all of my drama club and theater stuff I did in middle school and high school. And then, in college, I was like, “I don’t really need to have a degree in order to be on TV,” so I did two years of college in Miami, and then I moved to New York City at the end of 2012 and started just hitting the pavement, doing extra work, all those reenactment shows that you see on Discovery. It was just a steady climb, for sure. It wasn’t an overnight “Here’s the keys to the kingdom” kind of situation.

If you look at your Wiki page, it’s like an episode here, an episode there, an episode here, and then three episodes on “Pose.” “Pose” was funny, because I had just moved to L.A. and they called me back to film the three episodes of “Pose,” or two episodes of “Pose” in the first season and then one in the second.

But that was my first big thing. It’s so nice that my first big series regular role is also another queer show, because a lot of times, as queer actors, people are like, “Oh, I don’t know if I want to pigeonhole myself…” and I’m just like, “Oh, thank god we have more opportunities to play gay characters.”

It seems like you might be happy playing queer roles for the rest of your acting career. For the rest of my days. Because, if I do get to play queer characters for the rest of my days, that means that there are queer characters being written and created. The whole point of this thing is to continue to move the needle forward, because three, four years PHOTO: PEACOCK

ago, we were all fighting for it. It’s nice that they’re opening space for us.

I always think, when I interview a queer actor who plays queer roles, what it must be like to connect with your younger self, thinking, “What would this have meant to 14-year-old Johnny?” Do you ever think that way? All the time.

And what’s that like for you? I was watching “Heartstopper,” and I just had a moment where I had to pause it, and I was like, “Wow, if I would’ve had this as a kid...” Because it is also a very child-friendly show about sexuality, whereas there hasn’t really been a lot of that. “Love, Victor” is one of them, but usually, a lot of queer shows are sex-forward, and that’s important, because that’s part of the community as adults.

But I do definitely think about that 100%, especially with “Queer as Folk.”

I remember being petrified of this even being on TV in front of me, and now, I am so unafraid, and so unwilling to go back into the closet in order to present art, that I am very excited to even think about where I started versus where I am now in telling these stories. And I can only hope that, by me being onscreen, whoever is watching can be like, “Oh, yeah. I’m absolutely unafraid to be myself after this.”

Did you watch the original “Queer as Folk” growing up? I watched it in hiding.

I wasn’t an avid, weekly watcher when it was on Showtime, or before, when it was on in the U.K. But I did go back and watch a lot of it after the fact in 2018, when I found out it was getting rebooted.

And then after, when we finished wrap-

What were the conversations you had with the cast and crew about how to honor the show’s legacy while also moving the needle forward? I can’t really speak for anyone else, but I think it was important for me to acknowledge how important “Queer as Folk,” both of them, were at the time that they came out. I think it’s also important to honor the actors that portrayed these characters at a time when it was not popular, or sometimes even safe, but it was also really important to separate myself from all of that, because even online, when it was announced that we were going to be the cast, you have a lot of pushback from fans of the first two original shows that are like, “Why would you redo this? It’s perfect the way it is.” And a lot of times you read the comments, you’re like, “OK, I don’t know if ‘perfect’ is the word, but I understand your love for this show.”

But I think it was important to put all of that aside, to know the legacy that it has, and to also be willing to create something new that hasn’t been seen before. There’s definitely Easter eggs, and little things here and there, that people will be like, “Oh, he’s like this character, and this character, and this character combined, if they were one character,” which is what I love too, because it is throwing it back to the older versions. But these are queer people that exist in this time, in this space, and I think it’s important that we honor the legacy of other queer people, but also showcase that we still very much exist as a very different kind of people now.

With Noah, who would you say that he would most identify with from the original series? I’d say Noah has a little bit of Michael from the American version. He’s got a little bit of Brian in him in certain respects. He does feel a little bit like all of the lead male characters, except for Peter Paige’s character, because he is a little more fun, and Noah’s getting there, but I feel like Noah’s a little more

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of the daddy of the group.

Even now when I see queer sex on screen, I’m still marveling at the fact that it exists. I definitely watched this and had a lot of appreciation for the fact that they didn’t shy away from the sex. What was it like knowing that you were signing up for a show that would mean that sex was pivotal? You see “nudity required” in the breakdown for the audition, and as an actor, I think it’s important for me to push myself and move out of my comfort zone, but I also think it’s important that we tell authentic queer stories, and queer people have sex in those stories, just like if we were to watch “Euphoria” or any other show on TV that has cis, heterosexual people.

It’s very sex-heavy, and we should be able, and have the space, to do the same.

And also, doing it in person, and choreographing it, and filming it, it was very important for me, and Stephen Dunn, the creator, and all the directors we’ve worked with, to show queer sex in a way that felt authentic and real, even so much as, lube was a conversation. Would we have enough time for lube in this? Would we use spit in this? And I am so grateful that we’re having this conversation, because there’s been times where I see queer sex onscreen, and I’m like, “Mm, OK. I don’t know if that’s how we get down, but...” It was really nice to have a collaborative situation when it came to that.

Yeah. I still don’t know how Jack and Ennis were able to do it with just spit in that tent.

[Laughs.] Yeah. I’m sure it was very dry in those mountains.

As you know, the whole show is centered on a Pulse-like shooting at Babylon. And for

me, admittedly, it was really hard to watch, though I have a real understanding that it’s dealing with trauma and working through that. What did it feel like when you got to that part in the script? I remember when I first read the pilot, I was shocked. I was like, “Oh my god, I did not know that this is where we are going.”

And then, the more I thought about it, the more I thought how important it was to show something like that. One, because I think there is a responsibility for us as queer people to acknowledge the things that our community has been through, whether it be HIV/AIDS or all of the [other] things our community has been victim to.

I think it’s important to present that as truth, and I also think it’s super important that we show stuff like that now because we are still undergoing a lot of fire from not only legislation, but bars getting broken into and potentially burned down. We are under attack, and I think it’s important that, while we celebrate a lot of queer representation, we also take a moment to understand where we still are in this time.

I really am grateful to the creators for creating space for this story, and not only in a way that shows the tragedy as it is, but also makes it about so much more than the tragedy: makes it how queer people are incredibly resilient and come together in times of strife, as we always have and always will.

Chris Azzopardi is the editorial director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Billboard.

Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.

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34 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | COMICS

Virtual Equality

33 Are able to, to Shakespeare ACROSS 34 “Virtual Equality” 1 Streisand, familiarly author and source of 5 Comes out on the this puzzle’s quote beach (1958-2022) 9 Monks’ head 37 Hard to penetrate 14 “Streetcar” director 39 Islamic leaders Kazan 40 Prefix that means 15 Cut the crop “queer” 16 Uncastrated porkers 41 Did an axel, say 17 “Gay people do not fight for freedom to 43 Latin I verb 46 Tyler of _Lord of the live in ___...”

Rings_ 20 Lobbyist Hilary 47 Facial application 21 Hair color, e.g.

48 “___ was saying ...”

22 Phallic fish 23 Boy in a Johnny Cash 49 Snatch song 50 Summer for Colette 24 Cost-of-living stat 51 Box to Vidal 26 House seat holders, 53 Lennox of the e.g.

Eurythmics 27 “Love Story” 55 ...but in a ___ composer 58 Michael of “The 28 Heteros, on Village Voice” PlanetOut? 59 Got a little behind 29 Fruit in a slot 60 Cut the skin off machine 61 You might shed this 31 Linda of _Another 62 What Sam twitched World_ on “Bewitched” 32 One of the “Maneater” singers 63 Aspen vehicle PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 53

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DOWN

1 Amanda of “Married... with Children” 2 Closet-emptying cry?

3 Prejudice and then some 4 Bargain sign at Barneys 5 Ocean flier 6 Hours for hitting the sheets 7 Jethrene Bodine portrayer Max 8 Ankle injury 9 Borders on 10 Choreographer Fosse 11 Erotic toy store 12 What Joan of Arc was maid of 13 Author whose poems inspired “Cats” 18 Chelsea in Manhattan, e.g.

19 Storage spots 25 Antifur org.

30 Milo of “Oz” 31 Emcee’s platform 32 Italian bear 33 Kind of arrest 34 Single stanza by Millay?

35 Stale mates, e.g.?

36 Biographies, to Baudelaire 37 Ethical challenge 38 Cut 41 “Pandora’s Box” heroine 42 Light heavyweight

43 Heat and cool, to strengthen 44 Ecole teacher 45 Submitted to a master 47 Ursa ___ (nighttime bear)

52 Words used in setting the tempo 54 They may show through a wet T-shirt 56 Sked info 57 It may be Sapphic

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Q doku Level: Easy

6

1 6 7 5 2

8

PUZZLES | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 35

Qsaltlake.com Each Sudoku puzzle has a unique solution which can be reached logically without guessing. Enter digits 1 through 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit, as must each column and each 3x3 square. Qdoku is actually five separate, but connected, Sudoku puzzles.

1 5 8 3 5 9 1 9 4 2 2 1 8 5 8 6 6 8 9 4 6 1 5 8 3 2 7 9 6 4 1 2 8 7 8 7 9 2 9 5 1 2 9 7 3 8 5 4 5 8 3 6 2 4 7 1 8 9 2 4 4 1 7 8 9

8 9 6 2 6 5 4 3 2 5 1 4 3 5 6 2 2 7 7 1 5 8 9 5 3 2 2 5 4 1 9 4 7 9 8 1 1 4 8 4 9 2 3 6 9 5 8 9

4 9

1

1 7 5 2 1

2 1 7 9 4 6 5 7 4 1 4 3 9

36 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | QMMUNITY

Qmmunity Groups BUSINESS

LGBTQ-Affirmative Psycho-therapists Guild of Utah  lgbtqtherapists.com * jim@lgbtqtherapists.com Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce  utahlgbtqchamber.com * info@utahgaychamber.com LGBT & Allied Lawyers of Utah  lgbtutahlawyers.com * lgbtutahlawyers@gmail.com Utah Independent Business Coalition  utahindependentbusiness.org 801-879-4928 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 YWCA of Salt Lake  ywca.org/saltlakecity 322 E 300 S 801-537-8600 HEALTH & HIV

Peer Support for Mental Illness — PSMI Thurs 7pm, Utah Pride Ctr Planned Parenthood  bit.ly/ppauslchiv 654 S 900 E 801-322-5571 Salt Lake County Health Dept HIV/STD Clinic 660 S 200 E, 4th Floor Walk-ins M–F 10a–4p Appts 385-468-4242

umen.org

Utah AIDS Foundation  utahaids.org * mail@utahaids.org 1408 S 1100 E 801-487-2323 Weber-Morgan Health Mon., Weds 1-4:30p 477 23rd St, Ogden Appt 801-399-7250 HOMELESS SVCS

VOA Homeless Youth Resource Ctr, ages 15–21 880 S 400 W 801-364-0744 Transition Homes: Young Men’s 801-433-1713 Young Women’s 801-359-5545 LEGAL

Rainbow Law Free Clinic 2nd Thurs 6:30–7:30pm UofU Law School, 383 S University St POLITICAL

Equality Utah  equalityutah.org * info@equalityutah.org 175 W 200 S, Ste 1004 801-355-3479 Utah Libertarian Party 6885 S State St #200 888-957-8824 Utah Stonewall Democrats  utahstonewalldemocrats.org  fb.me/ utahstonewalldems RELIGIOUS

First Baptist Church  firstbaptist-slc.org * office@firstbaptistslc.org 11a Sundays 777 S 1300 E 801-582-4921

Qsaltlake.com |

Sacred Light of Christ  slcchurch.org 823 S 600 E 801-595-0052 11a Sundays SOCIAL

1 to 5 Club (bisexual)  fb.me/1to5ClubUtah  1to5club@

utahpridecenter.org blackBOARD Men’s Kink/Sex/BDSM education, 1st, 3rd Mons.  blackbootsslc.org blackBOOTS Kink/BDSM Men’s leather/kink/ fetish/BDSM 4th Sats.  blackbootsslc.org Flaming Man  menwhomove.org OWLS of Utah (Older, Wiser, Lesbian. Sisters)  bit.ly/owlsutah qVinum Wine Tasting  qvinum.com Sage Utah, Seniors  fb.me/sageutah  sageutah@ utahpridecenter.org 801-557-9203 Temple Squares Square Dance Club  templesquares.org 801-449-1293 Utah Bears  utahbears.com  fb.me/utahbears  info@utahbears.com Weds 6pm Raw Bean Coffee, 611 W Temple Utah Male Naturists  umen.org

 info@umen.org

Utah Pride Center  utahpridecenter.org  info@utahpridecenter.org 1380 S Main St 801-539-8800 Venture OUT Utah  bit.ly/GetOutsideUtah SPORTS

QUAC — Queer Utah Aquatic Club  quacquac.org  questions@ quacquac.org Salt Lake Goodtime Bowling League  bit.ly/slgoodtime Stonewall Sports SLC  fb.me/SLCStonewall  stonewallsaltlakecity. leagueapps.com 385-243-1828 Utah Gay Football League  UtahGayFootballLeague.com  fb.me/UtahGayFootballLeague Venture Out Utah  facebook.com/groups/ Venture.OUT.Utah SUPPORT

Alcoholics Anonymous 801-484-7871  utahaa.org LGBT meetings: Sun. 3p Acceptance Group, All Saints Episcopal Church, 1710 Foothill Dr Tues. 8p Live & Let Live, Mt Tabor Lutheran, 175 S 700 E Wed. 7p Sober Today, 1159 30th St , Ogden Wed. 7:30p, Sober AF, Zoom mtg ID 748 896 1508, Password SLQ2020 Fri. 7p Stonewall Group, Mt Tabor Lutheran, 175 S 700 E Crystal Meth Anon  crystalmeth.org Sun. 2:30pm Clean, Sober & Proud LGBTQIA+Straight Alano Club, 5056 Commerce Dr, Murray

Genderbands

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JULY, 2022

 genderbands.org

Youth Support Group ages 10-14, 14-20

fb.me/genderbands

 utahpridecenter.

LifeRing Secular Recovery 801-608-8146  liferingutah.org Sun. 10am Univ. Neuropsychiatric Institute, 501 Chipeta Way #1566 Sat. 11am, How was your week? First Baptist Church, 777 S 1300 E LGBTQ-Affirmative Psycho-therapists Guild of Utah  lgbtqtherapists.com * robin@lgbtqtherapists.com Men’s Support Group Tues, 6pm  utahpridecenter.org/ mental-health/mens-sg/  Therapy@ utahpridecenter.org Parent & Caregiver Support Group Mon 6:45pm  utahpridecenter.org/ youth--programs/ Survivors of Suicide Attempt  utahpridecenter.org/ mental-health/sosa/ Trans & Nonbinary Adult Support Thurs, 6pm  utahpridecenter.org/ programs/lgbtq-adults/  tnbsupport@ utahpridecenter.org TransAction Sun, 1:30pm  utahpridecenter. org/adult-programs/ transaction/ Sundays 2–3:30pm Women’s Support Group Wed 6pm  utahpridecenter. org/mental-health/ womens-sg/  womensupport@ utahpridecenter.org

org/youth-programs/ YOUTH/COLLEGE

Encircle LGBTQ Family and Youth Resource Ctr  encircletogether.org

fb.me/encircletogether 91 W 200 S, Provo, 190 S 100 E, St. George 331 S 600 E, SLC Gay-Straight Alliance Network  gsanetwork.org

The OUT Foundation  theout.foundation  fb.me/theOUTfoundation

Salt Lake Community College LGBTQ+ 8 slcc.edu/lgbtq/

University of Utah LGBT Resource Center 8 lgbt.utah.edu

200 S Central Campus Dr Rm 409, M-F, 8a-5p 801-587-7973 USGA at BYU  usgabyu.com  fb.me/UsgaAtByu

Utah State Univ. Access & Diversity Ctr  inclusion.usu.edu/

lgbtqa Utah Valley Univ Spectrum  facebook.com/

groups/uvuspectrum Weber State University LGBT Resource Center  weber.edu/

lgbtresourcecenter 801-626-7271 Westminster Diversity Center Bassis 105, M-F 8a-5p  estminstercollege.

edu/diversity Youth Activity Night ages 10-14, 14-20  utahpridecenter.org/

youth-programs/

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REVIEW BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

Burn the Page: A True Story of Torching Doubts, Blacing Trails, and Igniting Change

BY DANICA ROEM C.2022, VIKING $27 320 PAGES

Sometimes, the smallest things make you hot under the collar.

It doesn’t take much: an idiot on the road, a disrespectful eye-roll, something muttered under someone’s breath and that’s it, you’re torched. Sometimes, conversely, the smallest things can change your bad mood. In “Burn the Page” by Danica Roem, it was an email.

It seemed like Danica Roems was always crying.

To be fair, she had good reason: she was working two jobs

the bookworm sez

and they weren’t enough to pay the bills. Her car was a piece of junk, it was 2016, and her states’ Republican delegates had just filed several anti-LGBTQ bills. For a trans woman like Roem, tears were perfectly appropriate until someone emailed her, asking why she didn’t run for office herself.

Actually, why not?

So, in preparation, Roem hired a team to do “opposition research” to suss out any past behavior that her homophobic opponent might try to use against her.

Born in the fall of 1984, Roem was three years old when her father committed suicide in their back yard; soon after, her mother’s parents needed care and moved into the Roem household. This, Roem admits, was stressful all around.

Even in fifth grade, Roem knew that she wasn’t a “cis-het straight kid” but since she had no “positive representation of LGBTQ people,” she stayed

BOOK REVIEW | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 37

closeted. By 13, though, she knew she was trans but didn’t want anybody to know; to help hide it, she participated in sports; fell in love with baseball and heavy metal music; and admired girls, albeit in ways different than did her male peers. Eventually, she made a community for herself.

But when she began to think about maybe having a relationship, Roem soon realized that she had some work to do. She couldn’t expect someone to see her for herself until she did it first.

“I had to commit to being who I was...” she said.

“It was time to transition.”

If you ever need proof of the concept that little things make big differences, you’ll want “Burn the Page.” Same goes if you want to read a memoir that bounces with energy.

Indeed, this book is a bit like taking a small kid into a toy store: they run amok,

touching and examining everything. That’s not unappealing; author Danica Roem careens about, but she always lands on the heart of this book — being honest, open, and authentic — which is likewise what she encourages readers to do. Her passion for this is contagious, and she sweeps readers along with her enthusiasm on other aspects of her life, whether it’s heavy metal music, travel, or politics.

Be aware that, because of her excitement over her career and her heavy coverage of it, the latter might slam shut the eyelids of readers who are not politically-minded.

On that, this book is like no other political memoir, ever. It’s fun, wildly entertaining, and it aims to mean more than just one woman’s story. For readers who want a good activist tale with a smile, “Burn the Page” is on fire. Q

q scopes JUNE BY SAM KELLEY-MILLS ARIES March 20–April 19

The friends in your life are having more of a blast than you are. Figure out what you want and go for it. Resist feeling envious of others. An example of what you want is a nice template.

TAURUS Apr 20–May 20

Don’t forget to brush your teeth, comb your hair, and show the world how amazing you can be. The stage is set to show off and you will be noticed. Keep your emotional priorities straight.

GEMINI May 21–June 20

Never gamble more than you can afford to lose. While it is tempting to take a few risks, the odds may not be in your favor. But pleasure is often found in the simplest of forms. Enjoy!

CANCER June 21–July 22

Travel and socializing are in the cards if you want them. See great sights and learn some new information.

If there is a fling, even better! But the best bet is to put education first.

LEO July 23–August 22

The worst thing that can happen to you is not likely to occur. Break the habit of worrying by realizing that things could be worse. From this point of view, you are living your best life!

VIRGO August 23–Sep. 2

Your friends care about you. One, in particular, may care more than others. Is it romance or deep admiration?

Nothing wrong with finding out! Whatever happens, don’t let this one get away.

LIBRA Sept 23–October 22

It’s a good call to back off from a harmful way of thinking. Focus on what matters and learn to enjoy the moments. In the end, your life is what it is, but you can pick and choose your focus.

SCORPIO Oct. 23–Nov. 21

Your capacity for pleasure is going to be overworked during this time. Don’t worry about delving into too many indulgences and enjoy the variety. Stay healthy and focused on fun.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22–December 20.

Whoever says love is worth fighting for is right. Whether it be a longterm relationship or one you’ve recently started, this is a time to secure what you have. Satisfaction is the reward.

CAPRICORN Dec 21–Jan 19

No one is out to spoil your dreams, but you might not know exactly what you want. If you can’t do what’s easy, then figure out what’s worth it. Collect ideas, not bad habits. It’s up to you.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20–Feb. 18

Shadows of doubt are bound to aggravate. Spend time bringing light into life by delving into a project or lover.

The longer you wait to find peace, the more chaos will disrupt your pattern.

PISCES Feb 19–Mar 19

Is something wrong with the picture? Depends on what you want to see. You can’t control the content but what you feel about it is up to you. This is an opportunity to try out new ideas. Q

38 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | HEALTH

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positive thoughts

Your status is nobody’s business but your own

BY JUAN MICHAEL PORTER II

During

a scene in the 2008 film “Milk,” the gay activist and politician Harvey Milk insisted that every gay person working on his campaign who had not yet disclosed their sexuality to their family do so immediately.

It’s a terrible moment wherein a well-meaning leader forces his beliefs onto a group of his followers without considering their particular consequences.

I am an advocate for HIV disclosure.

Much like Milk, I divulge personal information publicly in order to fight stigma. But, unlike him, I don’t believe that anyone else should do so, unless they decide to for themselves. In fact, during one’s day-to-day life, there is rarely a reason for a person’s sexuality or HIV status to surface. For instance, it is none of your employer’s business — in fact, it is illegal for them to ask. Not even your parents are entitled to that information if you’re unprepared to discuss it with them.

I have a friend who, despite telling his mother everything about his life — including the latest dress he ruined after a messy sexual experience — refuses to speak to her about his seropositive status.

This is because he fears that it is the one thing that will change her opinion of him.

Whether he is incorrect about that or not, he is right to hold onto this information until he feels comfortable with sharing it.

Soft power advocacy Among my friends, I am known as someone who “overdiscloses.” It’s not uncommon for me to casually share my seropositive status with strangers at Christmas parties, during lectures, or while moderating panels because, as I frequently say, “I want you to know that this is how living with HIV can look — that the virus is nothing to be ashamed of and that the person in front of you, whom you hold in high esteem and are shaking hands with, is living with this infection.”

It’s unnecessary for me to do this, but I choose to put myself out there as a form of soft power advocacy. I am aware of the privilege I wield as a culture critic and as the staff writer of TheBody. As a result of that authority and influence, people are often prepared to like me as soon as they meet me.

Though disclosing my status with people who do not need to know it

might commodify me as “the HIV guy” in their eyes, I believe that by doing so, I am challenging the pervasive poverty-porn portrayal of people living with HIV (PLWH) and helping those who might feel a certain type of way about our community to dispel their false — and often judgmental — notions.

Just as importantly, by sharing my experience, I am standing up as a possibility model for PLWH who may not feel so great about themselves. I once felt this way. I believed that seroconverting was something that only happened to people who didn’t plan properly. I was also not so secretly jealous of my friends who never tested positive for any major sexually transmitted infections (STIs) despite their slutty sexcapades. I was angry that I’d avoided certain types of experiences out of fear of HIV — only to end up testing positive for it anyway.

While those feelings were real, once I acknowledged that I was still the same person and that my opportunities had not diminished, I began to accept my status and to advocate for anyone who had ever been told that they were bad because of something that had happened to them.

And let’s be clear — it doesn’t matter what led to your diagnosis with HIV. As the social culture dynamo King of Reads brilliantly states, “Nobody gave me HIV, child. Nobody gave me anything, sis. I contracted a virus that I am maintaining every day when I take my medicine.”

Maintaining one’s health should be what matters So, whether you seroconverted after having sex for the first or the 100th time, during a sexual assault, while using drugs recreationally, while you were in a committed relationship, or while taking raw loads in the back of your local sex club — none of us deserves HIV, nor should anyone be judged for living with it. Just as importantly, you don’t owe anyone an explanation regarding how you seroconverted unless you choose to tell them.

As King of Reads reminds us, maintaining one’s health should be what matters.

However, because of backward laws that were often passed without consideration for health science, disclosing one’s HIV status is legally required in many states before engaging in sex with another

person — but only for the person who is living with HIV. Yes, in violation of basic common sense and equal rights, people who are seronegative are not required to discuss their HIV status.

In some states, this double standard for PLWH includes oral sex, even though we know that spit does not transmit.

This, despite the fact that, as the HIV activist Nina Martinez puts it, “Both consenting parties to sexual activity can prevent HIV transmission, no matter what is or is not said between them.”

Given the reality that PLWH can be virally suppressed through treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART) and therefore incapable of transmitting, that people who are seronegative can use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent transmission from occurring, and that condoms and lube can also act as preventative measures, I don’t think that focusing on one’s HIV status should be the point of a conversation about sex. For me, that discussion has always been led with, “Do I want to have sex with this person?”

While discussing status has always been my habit, even when I was seronegative, I hate that our country forces one community of people to divulge their private information without considering how doing so will affect their lives. Because while I care about people who are seronegative, my primary concern will always be protecting people who are seropositive.

Because we are more vulnerable — and the laws that govern our status have been written in such a way as to prey upon us.

Despite this reality, it is essential that we recall that in our daily lives, our HIV status is no one’s business, and that even when it comes to dating, that information is earned — not a person’s right to know.

This will be the case even in the future when we (hopefully) reach a state where HIV is regarded in the same way as cancer — as something shitty that happens, but that doesn’t reduce one’s worth. And that is the most important thing to hold onto: Whether you never speak of your status or choose to blare it to the world with a bullhorn like I do, it does not determine how wonderful you are. Q Juan Michael Porter II is a contributing editor for TheBody and TheBodyPro. He has been living with HIV since 2015. This column is a project of TheBody, Plus, Positively Aware, POZ and Q Syndicate, and QSaltLake Magazine.

JULY, 2022 |

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FOOD & DRINK | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 39

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sex and salt lake city

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Issue 337 |

JULY, 2022

Keep the bugs away

BY DR. LAURIE BENNETT-COOK

Happy

Pride Month! — is the greeting of the season. Many of us find ourselves feeling hornier than usual this time of year — as well as ready and willing to celebrate that feeling with whoever else may be feeling the same. Below are some ways to prevent bringing anything home that may linger and be an unwelcome reminder of an otherwise salacious, albeit fun, encounter.

First things First: Know your status! Getting tested is the single most responsible thing a sexually active person can do. You may be carrying a sexually transmitted infection that of which you may not be aware. Without knowing it exists, there’s no way to treat it. Some places to check out for testing: The Salt Lake County Health Department, Utah AIDS Foundation, or Planned Parenthood.

Carry the right equipment: Condoms and Dental Dams are your friends! It’s up to you to protect yourself. Someone may believe they are free from all STIs, but should you contract something in spite of that, the responsibility is really on you. We are each responsible for our own bodies – and that means protecting it from potential infections. If the person you’re hooking up with has sexual practices and/or

partners that are little known to you, it’s best to err on the side of caution and use protection. Think it’s not sexy to insist on using a barrier? Know what’s even less sexy? Contracting an STI and having to take a trip to the doctor’s office for treatment that could’ve been prevented.

Lube Up! Lube lessens friction and therefore lessens the possibility of micro tears or abrasions. Tears and abrasions offer an access for unwanted bacteria or viruses to enter your body. Less friction equals less tearing which equals less risk of contracting an STI. *TIP* Coconut oil may be super popular these days, but it is not lube and can actually breakdown latex making many condoms ineffective.

Don’t Shave: This may sound counter intuitive to prepping up your sexy bits for a potential rendezvous with a new lover, but shaving can cause many little micro abrasions which in turn offer access for infections and bacteria to enter your body. Ever experience razor burn?

Those minor little injuries to the skin are all the opening your body needs to invite something unwanted. If shaving is how you keep yourself manicured, do so 24 hours before heading out to play.

Wax in Advance: If waxing is your jam, do so at least 48 hours prior to play time. Like shaving, waxing can cause an injury to the skin creating an opening for unwanted STIs to enter. Waxing injuries to the skin take a bit longer to heal than shaving as many waxes remove a bit of skin along with the hair follicle.

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Brushing our teeth is not only necessary but also greatly appreciated by everyone we encounter. However, doing so right

before playing orally may put you at a higher risk for STI contraction. Much like shaving and waxing, brushing can create micro-tears in our gums. It’s not uncommon for the gums to bleed a little when brushing your teeth. That bleeding is a sign of a (minor) injury to the gums and therefore — you guessed it — another potential opening for STI contraction.

Thankfully our mouths heal super fast and if you happened to brush your teeth in the morning, by afternoon you should be good to go. However, if you do find yourself with a mouthful of someone else’s deliciousness … swallow or spit but don’t let it sit. Our mouths are acidic and have the ability to kill a lot of bacteria. But let’s not test just how much they kill by allowing another person’s body fluids, no matter how tasty, to simmer in it for too long.

Your Safest Barrier: Closed skin. Think of how we all work to prevent the spread of a cold or flu, which are simply other viruses that are not (usually) sexually transmitted. The best way we work to prevent them is to wash our hands often and disinfect areas that may be infectious. Treat your genitals the same way. Clean yourself often; tend to any openings in the skin; don’t knowingly expose yourself to something that may potentially infect you.

There certainly is a lot of unwarranted shame and stigma around STIs. Fortunately, there are cures and treatments and plenty of ways to prevent oneself from contracting a new STI or passing along an already existing one. Keep yourself in the know and appropriately protected so you can enjoy any and every sexual encounter that comes your way and thus — keep your Pride Days not only happy, but sexier too.

Dr. Laurie Bennett-Cook is a Clinical Sexologist. She can be reached at DrLaurieBennettCook@gmail.com

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Issue 337 |

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42 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | A&E

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Issue 337 |

JULY, 2022

Eccles Art Center in Ogden holds annual Colors of Pride competition

The

annual Colors of Pride competition was held by the Eccles Art Center in Ogden where Utah artists were invited to use the six colors and/or themes of the Pride flag — red: life; orange: healing; yellow: sunlight or energy; green: nature; blue: harmony or peace; purple: spirit.

Original pieces in any medium including paint, print, drawing, graphic, pottery or sculpture, and textiles were eligible.

“We support the coming together of artists and art appreciation, through the offering of this competition of shared creative expression.

When the world is disheartening, a show of support and acceptance is all that someone needs to feel understood,” event organizers said in a statement.

Winners were: “Choosing Memories,” by Darryl Erdmann: Best of Show.

“War Paint,” by Keith Haney: Honorable Mention.

“Love Thyself,” by Lindsay Huss, Honorable Mention.

“Sides of Self,” by Amy Bingham, Honorable Mention.

“Live in Love AND Color,” by Kristy Hawkes, Honorable Mention.

“Bali in Vintage Frame,” by Bonnie “Bonaray” Hooper, Honorable Mention.

“Rainbow Basket,” by Curt Fuller, Honorable Mention.

A familiar theme for many of the pieces was a dissection of oneself.

Erdmann explained his piece as a coming-to-self moment. “‘Choosing Memories’ is a piece that utilizes boundaries while still exercising our freedom to expand on who we are individually. Civility, harmony, and living every day to the fullest potential will always be the best choice for all of us. Life is precious and

needs to be celebrated daily.”

Lindsay Huss explained, “This body of work explores the idea of the many facets of human personalities. In many ways, we fracture our personalities depending on our situation. When we examine ourselves, we must confront the fact that we have different sides to our personalities. These can include the pieces that could be considered, evil, vain, vapid, loving, passionate, and frightened. We must find a way to unite these pieces so that we can become whole.

Without studying ourselves and who we truly are, we remain fractured.” She adds, “‘Love Thyself’ is truly about loving oneself for who they may be at their core. Once I learned to love myself, including what others may see as flaws, I was set free.”

Amy Bingham struggled to express her many sides.

“For me, the piece is about the struggle to articulate your dynamic self. I feel like my truth is actually being built from the inside out, sometimes changing, not always translatable in words or color.” Bingham said. “I no longer let the hot air in my head lead me; it is now the fuel that feeds my adventures. I go with the wind. I am constant, I follow only my internal compass.”

The art pieces will be displayed in the Main Gallery through June 27. Virtual tours are available at ogden4arts. org, Instagram, and Facebook.

The staff will be receiving donations for the Ogden Pride Outreach and the Eccles Art Center programs. A small rainbow flag or an ornament can be bought for a donation. They will be placed on a tree located in the Eccles Art Center’s main gallery. Hearts are $5 each or five for $20. Flags are $50 each. Q The Eccles Art Center is at 2580 Jefferson Ave, in Ogden, Utah. More info at ogden4arts.org

JULY, 2022 |

Issue 337 |

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Q&A | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 43

SHE SAID YES! Time to start planning the wedding

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Will they treat us well?

Will they listen to our wants?

Do they support our community?

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Issue 337 |

JULY, 2022

the perils of petunia pap smear

The tale of a potted petunia

BY PETUNIA PAP SMEAR

The road

to the Utah Pride Festival is fraught with danger and excitement.

“June is bustin’ out all over,” and with it comes the Utah Pride Festival and Parade. In previous years, I used to participate in the parade every year.

I’m sure most of you have never noticed me because I try and be inconspicuous and blend into the crowd. I would count walking the parade route as my entire annual quota of aerobic exercise. It is not such an easy feat for a Gravity Enhanced Buffet Queen to walk the whole Pride Parade distance.

The very first time I marched in the parade, I had just obtained a brand new pair of 5-inch Platform Ruby Slippers which I thought I needed to wear. They looked incredible but made my walk as unstable and gangly as a newborn giraffe.

So as always, it came down to a choice of style versus function, and of course, style won out. I was sure that my twirly whirly breasticles would have enough of a gyroscopic effect so as to help stabilize me.

About halfway through the parade route, there arose an oncoming breeze, sufficient enough to cause the breasticles to begin spinning rapidly before my eyes, slightly hypnotizing me and making me dizzy. I felt my ankle give way as my left heal twisted out from under me, and so began a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad, great, and torturous fall from grace. I stumbled and, to my amazement, caught myself before I went all the way down.

Just as I was breathing a great sigh of relief, I stumbled again. To add insult to the continuing injury, the heal of my right foot got caught up in the hem of my hoop skirt. At this point, the scene on the street held a very close resemblance to the Hindenburg disaster, although much less graceful. Bystanders were running for their lives to avoid being crushed. Resigning myself of all hope for remaining upright was lost, I screamed what witnesses later described as a “Death Squeal” as I

made my way down toward the pavement.

God does indeed watch out for little children, fools, and apparently drag queens with un-sensible shoes, because just before my lipstick met the road, I felt someone throw their arms tightly around me from behind and return me to the land of standing upright. Amazed that someone was strong enough to pick up my Bodus Rotundus, and grateful at being saved from becoming roadkill, I slowly turned around in order to thank my savior. I was delighted to discover that I was being held in the arms of an Adonis, wearing only a dazzlingly white smile, a perfect suntan stretched over a rock-hard six-pack, and a very well-packed Speedo.

I’m sure he probably was also wearing shoes, but who in the world would ever notice? Surely, he had just come from the set of filming a Falcon Video. I nearly swooned. He seemed to think that I was still stumbling, so he kept holding on to me. Who was I to correct this beautiful “Boy Scout” as he performed his good deed for the day? He kept his big, strong arm around my waist and walked with me for the rest of the parade route until I safely reached the festival grounds.

The most dangerous and fraught thing about Pride is the fact that, with my beehive hair, twirling breasticles, and cape, I cannot fit inside a port-a-potty without removing my hair and cape. Just as cast members in Disney Land must never remove their heads in view of the public lest they destroy the magic, any drag queen worth her tiara must never remove her hair in the public’s eye either.

Every year when I’m planning my Pride Day wardrobe, I come up against the most important of all eternal queries: ‘To pee or not to pee, that is the question!” Because of the difficulty relieving number one, I try not to drink much because what goes in must come out.

A few years ago, I had a budding case of heatstroke from lack of hydration. So, if on Pride Day you should find me lying in a ditch somewhere and I don’t respond to your jingling of shiny objects and promises of glitter, please pour a bottle of water over me, and when I regain consciousness, shove a pizza in my mouth.

Side note to God: Please, please, please don’t let me have a fatal heart attack while I’m wearing my Pride Day rainbow sequined dress with the twirling breasticles. It may look fabulous with a capital “F” and would send all the other angels into fashion hell, but it chafes, and I don’t want to spend eternity chafing.

Besides, it is next to impossible to sit demurely on a cloud while wearing a hoop skirt without giving a very indiscreet showing of the family jewels.

Like always, these events leave us with several eternal questions: 1. When a breasticle pops off during a parade, is the proper distress call “Boob Down?”

2. What kind of street cleaner would be required to remove lipstick from asphalt?

3. Should I attach a generator to my pinwheel breasticles, so I can become a mobile wind turbine and recharge cell phones at the Pride Festival?

4. When I am inside a port-a-potty does that make me a “potted petunia?”

5. If I consumed a 420 edible, would that make me a “potted petunia” as well?

6. Should I begin attending Pride with a mobile crane equipped with a plastic blue tarp of secrecy (stolen from covering a haystack) to do the heavy lifting when I need to pee?

These and other important questions to be answered in future chapters of: The Perils of Petunia Pap-Smear. Q

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