The Pride LA February 19, 2021

the pride

ISSUE NUMBER 51, VOLUME 22 | FEBRUARY 19 – MARCH 4, 2021 2.19.2021 – 3.4.2021

WWW.THEPRIDELA.COM

LOS ANGELES

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THE LOS ANGELES LGBT NEWSPAPER

Shuttered LGBTQ+ Bar Dedicates Mural to Dolly Parton & Frontline Workers Mural in progress at Strut BAR & CLUB

A Long Beach-based artist has been commissioned to paint a mural at a local LGBTQ+ Bar that recently closed.

Strut BAR & CLUB has dedicated a mural to the community of frontline workers and Dolly Parton in honor of her generous contribution to help fund the development of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. The 50-foot by 20-foot visual installation, painted by Long Beachbased artist, David Gilmore, was started on Friday, February 12 and is set to unveil on Saturday, March 13, 2020.

“When I learned about Dolly Parton’s role in the funding of Moderna’s vaccine development, I was incredibly proud,” says Luke Nero, Founder and CEO of Strut BAR & CLUB. “Not only is she an icon in the queer community and beyond, but she is

truly a model of inclusivity. It’s my hope that our mural will add positivity and a sense of togetherness to our Costa Mesa community while recognizing the contribution of frontline workers and serving as a symbol of hope for better times ahead.”

Strut BAR & CLUB, located at 719 W 19th Street in Costa Mesa’s dynamic Westside neighborhood, is a queer-friendly nightlife

Drive N Drag Los Angeles Rose Bowl events this march

Drive N Drag will be coming to the Rose Bowl, Pasadena. Featuring RuPauls Drag Race Alumni favorite Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Kameron Michaels, Naomi Smalls, Plastique Tiara, Violet Chatchki and Bianca Del Rio. The show will be centered around the queens saving the world from 2020. At “Drive

N’ Drag Saves 2021”, the ladies will perform live on a giant stage in front of attendees’ cars for a show that promises extravagant lighting, fabulous attire and jumbotron LED screens.

The sound will be broadcasted both from the stage and via an FM radio that you’ll be able to tune into once you arrive at the venue, plus there will be a concert-quality light show and gourmet food trucks with food available for purchase.

Drive N Drag, see page 7

destination and has been temporarily shuttered by government restrictions since March 15, 2020. Prior to the pandemic, Strut helped to

fill the void of queer spaces in Orange County,

Shuttered LGBTQ, see page 7

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2.19.2021 – 3.4.2021

LOS ANGELES

Lady Gaga Oreos Have Hit The Shelves Neon green and pink cookies anybody?

Oreo has released a fitting neon green and pink version of their famous cookie in partnership with Lady Gaga celebrating her newest album Chromatica.

The limited edition Chromatica Oreos hit shelves on Jan. 28th and the Grammy/ Oscar winner hinted on social media that some of the packages were autographed by her.

The Oreo Twitter account released a series of six cryptic clues leading to hiding spots of where they could be found.

New clues were released hourly, each one inspired by Gaga’s sixth studio album, Chromatica.

Fans had 24 hours to crack the cookie code, tweeting the correct answer while tagging #ChromaticaCookieHunt, #sweepstakes and @Oreo.

Oreo will randomly select 50 lucky

winners to get the hot pink signed packs, and their names will be announced on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the Lady Gaga Oreos are available for about $3.67 per pack, for a limited time only. The first-ever celebrity Oreo is embossed with one of three designs inspired by her album.

From now until April 30, 2021, Oreo and Gaga are promoting “Sing it with Oreo” to encourage fans to send uplifting “Oreograms” to loved ones for a chance to

win an assortment of Lady Gaga swag and experiences.

The grand prize is a flyaway concert

and meet-and-greet experience, pending COVID-19 restrictions, with Lady Gaga herself.

2.19.2021 – 3.4.2021

LOS ANGELES

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Faultline Gay Bar Closes, Looks For New Location Silverlake bar closes after 26 years

After 26 years at their Silver Lake location The Faultline leather bar has closed and is looking for a new spot to call home.

Founded in 1994, the iconic gay space was known for its indoor and outdoor bars with a large outdoor patio area. It featured a mix of themed nights, go-go boys, DJs, live performances, outdoor parking lot events, and a long-standing Sunday beer bust destination known to attract upwards of 600 participants.

Co-owner Ruby De Fresno confirmed the news stating, “We want to keep it going,” she said. “I’m very excited to keep the legacy of Faultline alive. Preserving this historic bar has always been close to my heart.”

The Faultline bar has been closed since

March of last year due to COVID-19 regulations and mandatory Los Angeles County health orders that closed other bars and clubs. The virus has wreaked financial havoc on LGBTQ spaces, several bars and clubs have closed and others have created GoFundMe pages to stay afloat until they are allowed to re-open.

Faultline space was a venue once called the Red Rouge in the 1960s, owned by gay icon Judy Garland and her then husband, Sid Luft.

The space has existed as a gay bar for more than 40 years. In the 1980s, it was known as The Stud, a Levi-leather cruise bar. In 1989, the bar was changed to Griff’s.

Shawn Farnsworth bought the business in 1993 and christened it Faultline.

New co-owner, who identified himself as Armando Cabana, confirms Faultline’s closure and says he has big plans for the historical space that was once mainly populated by members of the LGBT leather, kink and fetish community.

LA Gay Leather Bar Eagle Asking For Help Popular Silver Lake leather bar Eagle LA has turned to the popular fundraising site GoFundMe to help with financial strain due to its closure during COVID-19.

The Eagle LA was opened in April 2006

by Charlie Matula and business partner Vince Quattrocchi, but its location at 4219 Santa Monica Blvd. in Silver Lake, Los Angeles has served as a watering hole for queers since it was The Shed (1968-1972).

Eagle has gone through many name transformations. It became The Outcast (1972-1983), and the Gauntlet II (1983 -2005) before becoming the Eagle LA in 2006 under Charlie Matula and business partner Vince Quattrocchi.

To save the bar from closing permanently, Matula has started a GoFundMe campaign, seeking $240,000.

The number of LGBTQ+ bars operating

in the U.S. has declined steeply in the past 5 years, and, Matula writes, “We have lost too many historic venues resulting from this pandemic already, which is changing the face of our community. This is why we are asking for your help to keep Eagle LA from closing permanently. With your support, we’ll be able to continue to ride this out until we can safely reopen in what is expected to be months from now.”

Since the GoFundMe Eagle LA has been

able to raise over $105,000 of its $240,000 goal.

To help Eagle LA visit their GoFundMe at:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/eagle-la-is-

asking-for-your-help?utm_medium=copy_

link&utm_source=customer&utm_ campaign=p_lico+share-sheet

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LOS ANGELES

The Pride Poets’ Corner “Death Sentence” By: Victor Yates

In honor of Black History Month The Pride’s featured poem this month is by poet Victor Yates.

Yates is a writer, storyteller, and digital media artist. His Black Lives Matter spoken word performance, Death Sentence, received a grant from the city of West Hollywood in 2020. He was also awarded a grant from West Hollywood to shoot a documentary recording narratives of older gay men to preserve for younger generations.

Yates is the winner of the 2020 George Floyd Honorarium for Poetry from the Los Angeles Press and was awarded a grant from the city of Glendale for a new spoken word performance in 2021. He won the 2017 Judith A. Markowitz Award for Emerging LGBTQ Writers and the 2016 Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction for his book, A Love Like Blood.

DEATH SENTENCE By: Victor Yates 1.

AAA To exhibit skill, English archers shot arrows through the eye socket of a bull’s skull.

The first Target store opened in the suburbs of Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1962.

It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.

AAA In 2016, Philando Castile was murdered for being Black and suspicious. I wasn’t reaching for it, was all they heard before there were no sounds. The cop, holding a gun, felt threatened.

AAA Horns, unlike antlers, are an extension of the skull and usually found on both males and females.

AAA To live in a Black body means balancing the burden of hundreds of skulls on your head to allow in other burdens.

AAA A cop locked his knee cap into George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds killing him in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

AAA Across the country, riots broke out following attacks at the hands of the police In 1967. It was called the long, hot summer.

AAA It’s kind-of Alice in Wonderland with the same moving picture re-shown over and over again.

So, when the bulls eye burned during protests no one had to tell me. My skull itched from the shock of bone when smoke filled my home.

2.

The first time someone called me the n-word was in West Hollywood.

When I was 16, my mother told me, smile while my photo was taken at the DMV. If I was stopped, the police wouldn’t think I was threatening.

To be young, gifted, and black means nothing at 12am and a cop pulls you over.

At a nightclub on Santa Monica Blvd., a white man kicked me in the back and called security to kick me out. He owned the club.

In 1969, if you were Black you had to show 3 picture ID’s to gain entrance into clubs in West Hollywood.

I’m not young anymore and I haven’t had anything to smile about in months.

We’re taught from the moment we leave the house to remember we are black.

Blackness is reason enough to be stopped.

Some Nights at 3am I wake up to a wingtip stuck in my back.

AAA 3.

AAA Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord cops arent called to keep The peace with spray of bullets Angels watch me through the night, And wake me with the morning light.

Under morning light and flashlight AAA eric garner said “I can’t breathe!”

Died in a prohibited chokehold.

AAA Sgt. James Brown said “Please take the mask off! I cannot breathe. Please.” died after injected twice with sedatives and an anti-spit mask placed on his face.

AAA Willie Ray Banks said “I can’t breathe!” died. After Shocked with a taser multiple times.

AAA Byron Lee Williams said “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.” 17 times.

died. He looked suspicious on a bicycle.

AAA elijah mcclain said “I can’t breathe correctly!”

Died August 30, 2019 Three days after placed in a chokehold and sedated.

AAA Breonna Taylor Last words unknown Shot 5 times But she was alive For at least five minutes, as she struggled to breathe AAA Be a voice for Breonna And speak up for Black women AAA Be hands for Elijah And hold on to each other.

AAA Be legs for Bryon Willie James Eric And those whose names are unknown stand up for somebody else.

AAA 4.

AAA Tishuan Said AAA Here in this land, turned by African hands, Into a nation advanced by free work We lie.

AAA Here in this land blood seeped into Earth– dripped from lash, fear and whip crack.

“Freedom,” We cried.

AAA Here in this land, We cried out A litany in pews, Down in the deep New South, swung from trees burned by gasoline.

“Equality,” We pleaded.

AAA Here in this land, Gunshots rang out, water blasted canines ripped flesh

Of those supposed as less– “Justice” We screamed.

AAA Here in this land, Played out on TV screens, History repeats.

And the caption reads AAA Unarmed Black Man Shot Dead By Police AAA Here In this land turned by great hands Into a nation advanced by free work AAA Yet vilified as We are, Rise up Black people, rise.

So we all can breathe AAA You can find a video of Victor Yates reading the complete poem at https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=sZH_QCztmsQ And a Q & A about the poem with Victor Yates and fellow poet Brian Sonia-Wallace at https://youtu.be/d6QtotBjhro

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Legislation to Stop Medically Unnecessary Surgeries on Intersex and Other Infants and Young Children SB 225 would help people born with variations in their physical sex characteristics to make their own choices about their bodies

Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced SB 225: the Bodily Autonomy, Dignity and Choice Act, to provide children and their families a chance to make informed decisions about major surgeries to change variations in the appearance of genitalia and other sex characteristics.

“People should have the chance to make informed decisions about their own bodies instead of having those decisions made for them and without their input,” said Senator Wiener. “This legislation gives children and their families more time to research and opt in or out of non-emergency surgeries to irreversibly change a child’s sex characteristics. We must provide people the ability to make important healthcare decisions for themselves – especially when healthcare decisions are associated with a person’s gender assignment, and can result in long-term pain, PTSD, depression, and a loss of sexual sensation. The intersex community is leading this movement, and I am proud to work with a broad coalition of LGBTQ, civil rights, and health advocates to get this legislation passed.”

Shuttered LGBTQ, from page 1

offering a lively, comfortable and safe space for all people, of all interests, from all walks of life to experience and enjoy.

“My intention with my work is to be

inclusive,” says Gilmore. “Hopefully anyone,

regardless of age or gender or race or identity, can see themselves in what I’m creating and know that we’re all in this together.”

For more information about Strut BAR

& CLUB please visit StrutOC.com. To

learn more about artist David Gilmore visit DavidGilmoreStudio.com. For updates on the

mural’s progress and Strut’s reopening follow @StrutOrangeCounty.

Under SB 225, these surgeries will be prohibited when a child is under the age of six (except in the cases where it is medically necessary), allowing for parents to continue to learn with their child and child’s physician regarding the potential need for medical interventions. SB 225 is cosponsored by Equality California, interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the ACLU of California.

One to two percent of people are born with variations in their genitalia and sex anatomy, some of whom identify as intersex. Parents of children with these variations are often offered medically unnecessary surgical interventions – such as major surgeries to cut a clitoris, create a vagina for penetrative sex, remove hormone-making organs, or move a working urinary opening – which are typically performed on children under two years old and often without a complete discussion of the various risks. These surgeries may result in extreme scarring, chronic pain, chronic incontinence, loss of sexual sensation, post-traumatic stress disorder, incorrect gender assignment, and the need for additional surgeries to treat complications from the original surgery.

SB 225 will allow parents to make a decision, in consultation with their child and medical professionals, once a person is old enough to participate in decisionmaking about whether or not a surgery to change sex anatomy is right for them.

“Building on 15 years of advocacy work by interACT, we saw two premier children’s hospitals finally commit to stopping infant clitoral and vaginal surgeries in 2020.

Now it’s California’s time to shine,” said Kimberly Zieselman, Executive Director of interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, herself an intersex woman. “SB 225 builds

Drive N Drag, from page 1

The drag show on wheels comes to bring Angelenos some fun entertainment and distraction from the crazy times we find ourselves in. “Our Werq the World tour typically plays inside large theaters and arenas, but we’ve moved the show outside to continue

on SCR 110, California’s 2018 resolution that established the state’s commitments to equality and autonomy for people born with variations in their sex anatomy.”

For every person, identity and sense of self — including gender — can evolve over a lifetime. But many of the procedures performed on infants with variations in their physical sex characteristics are permanent and irreversible. SB 225 will provide a way for families and children to have autonomy over decisions about their children’s bodies and their identities by delaying these surgeries until a child has reached six years old. Six is around the time when research shows that for many, gender identity has begun to form and take shape. The only way to know what an individual will want is to safely delay these non-emergency surgeries.

SB 225 will delay procedures to reduce the clitoris, create vaginas, and remove hormone-producing tissues often performed on infants – such as clitoroplasty, clitoral reduction, clitoral recession, gonadectomy, procedures to lengthen or reroute a urethra from its native orifice, vaginoplasty, urogenital sinus mobilization, and vaginal exteriorization.

Many adults who underwent these surgeries as infants have expressed deep concern and anguish about the procedures.

The intersex community is leading the movement to ensure that no matter what gender identity a person grows up to have, everyone born with unique sex anatomy should be able to play a role in major healthcare choices. Organizations such as the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and the World Health Organization agree that these surgeries can be harmful and should only be an option when the individual is able to participate in an informed decision. Many in the medical

community agree: in 2020, two U.S. hospitals committed to stopping infant clitoral and vaginal surgeries, citing issues raised by intersex and human rights organizations.

“The LGBTQ+ community — and transgender, nonbinary and intersex folks in particular — have been fighting for decades to secure our rights to make decisions about our own bodies. That fight continues today,” said Equality California Executive Director Rick Chavez Zbur. “Children born with diverse physical sex traits and their parents should be able to participate in the critically important decision-making process regarding medically unnecessary and often irreversible surgical interventions. We are proud to stand with Senator Wiener and the intersex community in this important work to safeguard the human rights of all Californians.”

providing much-needed entertainment during these crazy times,” producer Brandon Voss said in a statement. “A pandemic won’t keep our queens from ruling the stage. The drag show must go on!”

Drive ‘N Drag Saves 2021 will be touring all around the country going to cities like Houston, Dallas and Austin. The show will be at Rose Bowl Drive in Pasadena for three

nights on Friday, March 19, Saturday, March 20, & Sunday, March 21.

To grab tickets to this event visit: https://feverup.com/m/94447?utm_ content=drive-n-drag-saves-2021-losangeles&utm_source=secretlosangeles&utm_ medium=post&utm_term=cta3&utm_ campaign=94447_lax

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2.19.2021 – 3.4.2021

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SA N T A MO N IC A C O L L EGE

2021 Exciting events are happening this spring!

Santa Monica College is offering a variety of events online. Most of these events are free. Come join us for: • Dance Performances & Master Classes • Theatre Arts Performances • Music Concerts • Literary Talks & Readings

• Planetarium Shows • SMC Associates Events • Green Screen Series • and much more!

Visit smc.edu/calendar for more information.

SANTA MONICA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES Rob Rader, Chair; Dr. Louise Jaffe, Vice Chair; Dr. Susan Aminoff; Dr. Nancy Greenstein; Dr. Margaret Quiñones-Perez; Dr. Sion Roy; Barry A. Snell; Joshua Elizondo, Student Trustee; Kathryn E. Jeffery, Ph.D., Superintendent/President Santa Monica College | 1900 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 | smc.edu