LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area
CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES Est . 1978
July 11–24, 2024 http://sfbaytimes.com
DYKE MARCH STRONG
Calling All Lesbians! Wake Up! It’s Time To Get Out Of The Beds, Out Of The Bars And Into The Streets. It’s Time To Seize The Power of Dyke Love, Dyke Vision, Dyke Anger, Dyke Intelligence, Dyke Strategy... We’re Invisible, Sisters, And It’s Not Safe—Not In Our Homes, Not In The Streets, Not On The Job, Not In The Courts. Where Are The Out Lesbian Leaders? It’s Time For A Fierce Lesbian Movement And That’s You: The Role Model, The Vision, The Desire.
–Lesbian Avengers (1993) “Dyke Manifesto”
Photo by Paul Margolis (2016)
Photo by Michelle “Shelley” Champlin (2024)
DYKE MARCH STRONG
How a Spontaneous Grassroots Effort Led to Not Just One But Two Dyke Marches in San Francisco During 2024 Pride
By Michelle “Shelley” Champlin
When I heard the official annual Dyke March was canceled a few days before it was supposed to take place, my stomach dropped and I felt emotion well up. I thought, “How can it be canceled?”
From what I understand, the San Francisco Dyke March, which has been going on since the ‘90s, was suddenly canceled due to leadership challenges within the official Dyke March committee such as internal conflicts, leadership deaths, and burnout. For me, the cancellation was a shock and felt like a loss.
I can’t express in words what this march means to me.
As a lesbian growing up in the closet in the culture of southern New Hampshire in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I contended with gay shame, internalized homophobia, and the trauma that accompanies this experience. Growing up, I didn’t have a community that reflected who I was or with whom I experienced shared reality.
When I moved to San Francisco in June of 2007, I could not believe the sheer magnitude of the LGBTQAI+ culture and community here. I realized the level at which we were valued and honored here and I felt like I was living in a fairytale come true. I belonged.
The Dyke March was and is maybe the best part of that fairytale come true for me and it has been a profound part of my life for the last 17 years. It’s impossible to describe the feeling, the empowerment, the freedom, the love that I feel when dancing down the middle of the street with other dykes, expressing our pride, and being cheered on with such love by folks from the sidewalk, windows, cars.
It’s so important that the march continues for myself and for the community. So. Important. We need to stay visible and we need to show that nothing will stop us showing up and showing our pride.
There was no way I could just accept that it wasn’t happening due to leadership challenges. I felt I had to try to pull people together, if possible, to march. I thought maybe people would gather to march anyway, but without a definite time or anyone organizing it, I didn’t feel it was a certainty.
So, I decided to create some big signs that on one side said, “You Are Loved,” and on the other said, “Proud Dykes Marching, 5:00 18th and Dolores,” indicating a time and the usual place. I walked around Dolores Park—where thousands of us gather to celebrate Pride on the Saturday of Pride weekend—showing one side of my signs and then the other.
Before leaving my house that day I felt tentative carrying the signs. I thought, “What if I walk around by myself with these random signs I made in front of all of these people and nobody shows up?” For a second I thought, “What am I doing?” But I didn’t feel it was an option not to try.
When I arrived at the park with friends, I just had the signs lying on the ground for a little while as I ate lunch. Even with the signs being on the ground, people began to notice them. Folks came up to me asking, “Are we marching?” and, “I thought it was canceled,” to which I would reply, “It was but we’re doing it anyway.” At the time, though, I didn’t have a definite “we.” It showed me that people really wanted this as much as I did.
I began walking around holding the signs high. You are loved. Proud dykes marching. 5:00 18th and Dolores. People began cheering as I walked by and asked to take pictures with me and the signs. I walked down one walkway at the bottom of a large hill covered with people and they erupted in cheers as I walked by! Multiple people approached me and thanked me. One person who is in the LGBTQAI+ band that always plays on Castro Street as the Dyke March goes by ran up to me and asked if we were marching and whether they should get ready to play as they normally would. I said, “Yes! It’s literally just me with a sign but lots of people were cheering and I think we will have a big group.” They said, “Great, if you’ll be there, we’ll be there.” I said, “We’ll be there.”
At about 4:40 pm I went to our location with a few friends and waited. I had also created another sign that simply said, “Proud Dykes Marching,” and held it up high so folks would see we were there and I also wanted to use it for when we marched because I knew there would not be an official banner (as there normally would be). A big group began to gather. About three or four Dykes on Bikes (motorcycles) showed up in the street and started to rev their engines as they normally would. Dykes on Bikes always lead
the march. People started getting riled up and were yelling, “Whooo!”
The streets were not closed down as they normally would be and I started talking to my friends about how we were going to lead people down the road. We didn’t have an answer as to how that would work but we were going to make it work somehow. At about 4:58 pm, as I held my sign high in front of the group, a police officer came up to me. I wondered if I might be told we couldn’t do this or if I might get in trouble for some reason. He said, “Are you marching?” I just said, “Yes, we are. At 5 pm.” He said, “OK.”
People were getting antsy and wanted to start. “Two more minutes!” I said to the group. A couple of people with big LGBTQAI+ flags moved to the front with my friends and me.
5 pm hit. My friend Jamie and I both said, “OK, let’s go!” We slowly started moving into the street and cars were forced to stop. Dykes on Bikes moved to the front. One of them rode over to me and asked about which streets to go down. She asked, “The usual route?” I said, “Yes!” We started our march yelling with pride!
A couple blocks in, when we were turning, the same dyke on a bike rode back to
Eventually a police car made it out in front of us and became our escort down the street.
Big groups of people screamed from the sidewalk and we yelled from the street. We
(continued on page 4)
me and said she would block traffic as we turned left. “Perfect!” I shouted. She parked her bike in the middle of the intersection and we marched by yelling, “Whooo!” as groups gathered on the sidelines and cheered us all on. We were doing it. We made it happen!
Michelle “Shelley” Champlin carried homemade signs announcing the time for the first of the two grassroots marches on Saturday, June 29.
(continued from page 3)
high-fived people cheering us on. Someone came out with snacks to hand us as we walked by. Dykes yelled, “Thank you!” from the sidelines. When we reached Castro Street, there was the LGBTQAI+ band playing their hearts out. I made it a point to dance and jump up and down in front of them before continuing and I fist bumped the person who spoke to me about playing as they played their instrument.
This march was maybe my favorite one I’d experienced because we came together as a community in a profound way and nothing stopped us.
When we completed our loop and returned to the park, my friend Jamie and I thanked the police for helping us. I then noticed another friend of mine in the street and another person directing people with a megaphone. My friend said, “We’re marching at 6 pm.” I said, “We just went at 5
Previous Dyke Marches
pm!” Apparently, some folks were also planning to gather people at 6 pm. So not only was there a Dyke March at 5 pm, but there was another Dyke March at 6 pm! Not only did the march happen, but it also happened twice! We came together as a community and made it happen. I know this truly speaks to the history of the march because it really was and is essentially a rally—a strong example of folks coming together and displaying their pride.
Sticking together as a community in love is truly the way into the future. Being LGBTQAI+ in our culture, we can relate to one another in so many ways and also, as individuals, we are all on different journeys and have had different experiences. There are, of course, moments when we don’t relate to one another. This is simply a part of being human.
DYKE MARCH STRONG
Even two siblings who have grown up together and have gone through all of the same life events together will have experienced these events in very different ways. Not one of us humans can completely understand what it is like to be another. A Socrates quote that I try hard to live by is, “I do not say that I know what I do not know.” Acknowledging that we all have a unique and valid experience creates a foundation for love and respect.
As members of the LGBTQAI+ community, we know what it means to experience exclusion and we know how profoundly important it is to belong and be accepted as the unique and beautiful humans that we are. We know the deep importance of love and we have a deep capacity to love one another.
This is why I know that we can continue moving into the future hand in hand, hon-
oring ourselves and honoring one another. It is also imperative that, as we move forward, we acknowledge, and hold in great respect, those who came before us—those whose shoulders we stand on—and all that the path that has led us to now has entailed. Let us continue to embrace compassion for ourselves and for one another as we create our future together. We are strong, we are powerful, and we are in it together.
You are loved.
Michelle (aka Shelley) Champlin is a Teaching Artist, Intuitive, and Compassionate Facilitator living in Oakland. She is passionate about creating space for folks to connect with themselves and to honor and acknowledge their profound significance.
Supporting Small Businesses in the Castro & Beyond
Lisa Cam Ha of Lisa’s Hair Design on Castro Street
Like Cher, Beyoncé, and Madonna, Lisa Cam Ha of Lisa’s Hair Design at 421 Castro Street is usually known by her first name only. As for those other mononymous mavens, Lisa has a renowned expertise in her profession. For at least 16 years, she has been one of the top hair stylists in the heart of Queer Mecca. A longtime LGBTQ+ ally, she has countless queer clients, including San Francisco Bay Times Co-Publisher Dr. Betty Sullivan.
Time in Lisa’s coveted chair has revealed that she is Chinese but grew up in Vietnam during some of the worst days of the war there. Her family fled to Hong Kong, where they were homeless for a period of time. Her fortunes turned for the better when her family immigrated to America and landed in San Francisco, where she now lives with her husband. She also has two daughters whom she is very proud of.
Conversations can go pretty deep with her as she does her hair magic. She previously worked at Nice Cuts before opening her little shop near the Castro Theatre, Twin Peaks, and Hot Cookie. She used to rent out a chair there to colleague Jeannette, but Ms. J is no longer at the salon.
It is little wonder that Lisa has a high Yelp rating of four and a half stars. As one client, Karen J., wrote: “A very good haircut at a great price. Lisa really listened to me about what I wanted. I showed her two pictures and she really hit the mark. She took a good amount of time and didn’t rush the haircut. And she mentioned she was doing a family’s hair later that day. I passed the information onto my daughter who lives in the area with her family. I would highly recommend Lisa if you are in the Castro or nearby.”
Michael N., in turn, wrote: “I know folks can get their hair cut anywhere, but I really love going to Lisa! She’s a great colorist as well, taking my black hair to blonde, silver, and probably any other color you’d want. The vibe is two chairs and a sink ... quite homey. You would think you’re in her kitchen! For a quick buzz cut for that Castro clone look, you can’t beat Lisa’s quality! Next time you go, say Michael (or Juicy) sent you!”
You can also say, “Betty sent you,” as she highly recommends Lisa as well and remains loyal to her as a stylist and colorist after many years. The location cannot be beat, given that it is right in the heart of the Castro and near the neighborhood’s Muni Station too.
Lisa’s Hair Design
421 Castro Street San Francisco 415-626-6268
Open Monday–Friday from 10 am–7 pm and Saturday from 10 am–6 pm. The shop is closed on Sunday.
The Supporting Small Businesses in the Castro & Beyond page is sponsored by Anne Sterling Dorman
Pride or Prejudice?
In Case You Missed It
Joanie Juster
Sunday, June 30, dawned clear and warm, a perfect day for a colorful celebration of Pride and joy. From my view (Contingent #108), I’ve never seen the Pride Parade go so smoothly. Throngs of excited spectators lined Market Street, cheering on fabulous floats, entertainers, community organizations, and more. After the parade, thousands went on to Civic Center to enjoy the outdoor festival, to City Hall for the glamorous Pride Party, or off to the Castro and other neighborhoods to continue celebrating. From the powerful rainbow-hued laser beams shooting up Market Street from the Ferry Building, to the Pink Triangle glow-
ing like a beacon of remembrance on Twin Peaks, it was a citywide triumph, and a glorious expression of LGBTQ+ freedom. Congratulations to everyone whose vision and hard work made this possible. However, the next day, we all woke up to the news that the U.S. Supreme Court had essentially destroyed the rule of law, the very foundation of what our country’s democracy is based upon. It was a cruel jolt back to the reality of the forces that we are up against in this country, and how tenuous are the freedoms that we had just been celebrating the day before.
San Francisco is a beacon of freedom to the world, but our country is at a crucial juncture, and we absolutely cannot afford to take our current freedoms for granted. Historian Heather Cox Richardson sounded the alarm after the July 1 Supreme Court decision: “This is no longer about Democrats and Republicans. This is no longer about partisanship. It is about the rule of law. The rule of law on which this country is based. What we’re looking at now is four months for those of us who believe in the rule of law, who believe in law and order, to reassert the fact that this is our country, this is our democracy.”
You may have seen mention of Project 2025. If you haven’t looked into it, now is the time, because if those who are cur-
rently running the Republican Party win in November, Project 2025 is their extremely detailed playbook for quickly and completely transforming our government, and our country. The New Republic recently described Project 2025 as “a remarkably detailed guide to turning the United States into a fascist’s paradise.” Among the goals laid out in Project 2025 is to turn the United States into a Christian nationalist country, which The New Republic warns, is “one in which married heterosexuality is the only valid form of sexual expression and identity; all pregnancies would be carried to term, even if that requires coercion or death; and transgender and gender non-confirming people do not exist.”
Scared yet? You should be. Americans United for Separation of Church and State has provided an excellent overview of Project 2025. Please read it, let the very real possibility of it becoming our future sink in, and help prevent their plan from becoming our reality. Your own freedom is on the line, and the threat is very, very real: https://tinyurl.com/Pr2025AU
Record-Breaking Number of Volunteers for Largest Ever Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks
The 2024 Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks, a highly visible reminder of the Holocaust and a reclaiming of the pink triangle as a symbol, was larger than ever before. The installation was composed of three 5-footwide sheets of sailcloth, which were each up to 230 feet long for the outline that was filled in with 175 canvases. The display as a whole was nearly an acre in size and could be seen for 20 miles.
Also record-breaking this year was the number of volunteers for the project. Leader and founder Patrick Carney, who additionally works with his husband Hossein and family members on the project, told the San Francisco Bay Times, “We remain very gratified by the nearly 900 volunteers who signed up for the six main Pink Triangle volunteer opportunities. 640 volunteers signed up for the main installation on Saturday, June 8, and most showed up despite the heavy fog, constant drizzle, and mud-like conditions, and had a great time meeting new friends and being part of this community tradition. Everyone received a Pink Triangle t-shirt for their effort.”
Fewer volunteers tend to come for the takedown, making that work more challenging, so please keep that in mind if you would like to help out next year.
This year’s take-down took place on Sunday, June 30, and Carney is very grateful to those who came.
He added, “As you know, the pink triangle and the rainbow
on Sunday, July 21, and I’m here to recruit you. Full disclosure: I am not writing about this event impartially. I have taken part in AIDS Walk as a walker, a volunteer, a staff member, or
(continued on page 23)
flag are the yin-yang of our gay rights symbols. One was tragically forged in the Holocaust, and the other was created out of love, hope, optimism, and nature.”
Joanie Juster, who has both volunteered for the Pink Triangle project and has also been honored during the morning ceremony at the site, shared these words about this annual display during Pride:
“June 30 was a beautiful day for a parade. The sky was clear and blue, and marching westward up Market
(continued on page 23)
AIDS Walk San Francisco Returns July 21
AIDS Walk San Francisco is returning to Golden Gate Park
Photos courtesy of Patrick and Hossein Carney
Photos by Juan R. Davila
Photos by Rink
Reach Out and Shout
6/26 and Beyond
Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis
On Friday evening of Pride weekend, we were seated on a BART train, decked out in our activist tuxes and rainbow bow ties on our way to celebrate the lighting of Illuminate’s spectacular rainbow pride laser show at the Ferry Building. 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of San Francisco’s historic Winter of Love when our city upheld the Constitution and defied state law to open the doors of City Hall for LGBTIQ couples to marry. To mark the occasion, twenty ever-changing lasers encompassing all the mixes of colors that represent our diverse community lit up the night sky Pride weekend, creating the world’s largest rainbow flag, stretching over four miles.
When we arrived at the Powell Station, a man got on board with his young teen child, sporting a trans flag on his backpack. We immediately complimented the teen on
displaying the trans colors prominently. They and their father smiled broadly, and we struck up a friendly conversation. Of course, they were coming from the annual Trans March, which was also celebrating its twentieth anniversary. And just before we entered the Embarcadero Station, we quickly had the chance to tell them about the Illuminate rainbow flag extravaganza. We hopped off the train, and they continued on to the East Bay. It was a wonderful chance encounter that was the perfect way to kick off Pride weekend.
It’s an understatement to say that there’s been a lot going on lately just before and just after Pride weekend. The Monday after Pride, the conservative Republican majority on the Supreme Court granted former President Trump, in the words of dissenting Justice Sonia Sotomayor, “all the immunity [from criminal prosecution] he asked for and more.” Writing for the three more liberal Justices on the Court, Sotomayor opined that the majority’s decision “makes a mockery of the principle ... that no man is above the law” and predicted that it “will have disastrous consequences for the Presidency and for our democracy.”
And on Monday of Pride Week, the Supreme Court announced that it will decide next term whether state bans on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents—even when the youth, their parents, and their medical providers all consider the care medically necessary—
violate the U.S. Constitution. The stakes could not be higher for our community. If the Court follows its own recent precedent as well as basic equal protection principles, it should rule in favor of transgender youth.
But according to Chase Strangio, Deputy Director for Transgender Justice at the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, “the future of countless transgender youth in this and future generations” hangs in the balance. Strangio added that these types of laws enacted in 25 conservative states “are the result of an openly political effort to wage war on a marginalized group and our most fundamental freedoms.” This cynical political strategy on the part of Republican lawmakers has served to further divide our fractured nation.
In the massive and magnificent Sunday Pride Parade, we were honored to transport the iconic Rainbow Torch down Market Street as part of the San Francisco Bay Times always-fabulous contingent. Attired again in our activist tuxes, we waved from atop our vehicle decorated in pink hearts to celebrate the Winter of Love’s 20th anniversary, wishing everyone lining Market Street “Happy Pride” at the top of our lungs as we went by.
At one point, we noticed a middle-aged man in the crowd, grinning from ear to ear as he jumped up and down, waving and yelling to try to get our attention. We wondered who in the world the person was and
why they wanted our attention so badly. Then it dawned on us.
It was our new friend from Friday’s BART train, once again accompanying his wonderful teenage trans child. All of our eyes met, sparking a connection more powerful than rainbow laser beams emanating from the Ferry Building Friday night. We all smiled broadly and shouted in delight at our second chance encounter.
With all that’s going on that will profoundly affect our nation and our lives, speaking up and connecting with each other must not stop on Pride weekend. It’s time for all of us in the LGBTIQ community and indeed all those who care about democracy to stand up and shout and organize. The health and well-being of trans teens like our new-found friend and the right of parents, like that teen’s exuberant middle-aged dad, to support their trans kids are on the line at the Supreme Court this fall. And democracy itself will be on the ballot in November.
Let’s raise our voices together with Pride in every way imaginable to make a difference.
John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. Their leadership in the grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed in 2015 to making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.
Illuminate WELCOME Ceremony San Francisco PRIDE 2024
On June 28, the organization Illuminate held a ceremony marking the world’s largest Pride flag, created out of 20 lasers beaming down Market Street. The ceremony, helping to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Winter of Love, included a renewal of marital vows for two prominent LGBTQ+ couples: John Lewis & Stuart Gaffney, and Imani Rupert-Gordon & Derah Rupert-Gordon.
New CA Laws Aim to Reduce Hate Crime and Gun Violence
Assemblymember Phil Ting
California just released its 2023 hate crime numbers, and I am happy to see that, overall, there were fewer cases reported—from 2,120 in 2022 to 1,970 last year, down 7.1%. But some categories, including incidents that target LGBTQ+ members, went up. Cases motivated by:
• sexual orientation increased by 4.1%;
• anti-transgender bias jumped 10.2%;
• and anti-LGBTQ+ hate spiked 86.4%.
I fear the numbers could actually be worse across various categories. People may not be reporting their hate crime to police and/ or law enforcement agencies. Without data, we can’t address the problem.
But that will soon change, as a result of a new law I authored, AB 449, which took effect this month. It requires all law
enforcement agencies in California to institute a hate crimes policy and follow specific guidelines when responding to such incidents.
It’s hard to believe there are some jurisdictions in our state that have zero hate crimes reported. That’s likely because they treat those cases like any other. In 2018, the State Auditor found that California’s hate crimes are underreported by 14% due, in part, to outdated or nonexistent policies—all of which contribute to an incomplete picture of hate in our state.
With AB 449 now in place, people may now be more comfortable reporting the hate they’ve encountered. With more victims coming forward and authorities classifying these cases like they should, my hope is the new, more accurate numbers will guide us on what other laws or resources we need to prevent hate crimes. Look at what happened when Asian hate surged, as COVID-19 spread. Frustrations over shutdowns and restrictions were violently taken out on members of the AAPI community, whose members were wrongly blamed for the pandemic. As the state invested in preventative measures, services for victims
(continued on page 23)
Youth Vote: Measure QQ Comes to Life
Out of the Closet and into City Hall
Oakland City Councilmember At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan
On November 3, 2020, Oakland voters passed Measure QQ, which amended the city charter to allow the city council to pass an ordinance to allow 16- and 17-year-olds, who are otherwise eligible to vote under state law, to vote for the Office of School Board Director. By allowing youth to vote for school board members, they can have a say in who governs this vital aspect of their lives and increase civic engagement.
In November 2021, the city council passed Resolution No. 88907, which requested that the Alameda County Registrar of Voters take all steps necessary, including but not limited to updating its DIMS Election Management System, to allow 16- and
17-year-olds to register to vote and participate in ranked choice voting in the elections of Oakland school board directors. On May 21, 2024, the Oakland City Council approved Resolution No. 90253, authorizing the reimbursement of costs required for Alameda County to update its DIMS Election Management system with its vendor, based on Oakland’s proportionate share of pre-registered youth voters.
On July 2, 2024, I, along with the Office of the City Clerk, Council President Fortunato Bas, and Councilmember Reid, co-sponsored legislation that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote for school board directors as early as November 2024. Final Passage would come with the second reading that will take place during the council meeting on July 16, 2024.
I have supported this effort from the start. I have seen firsthand the intelligence, leadership, and civic engagement of the youth who have fought for the right to determine the leadership of the Oakland Unified School District. I, like the students, was disappointed when we were repeatedly told that Measure QQ, which passed with support of two-thirds of the voters in 2020, couldn’t be implemented over a period of three years. Berkeley, another city in Alameda County, also passed a ballot measure to enable youth voting for their school
(continued on page 23)
Message to the Members of the Golden Gate Business Association From the GGBA Board of Directors
(Editor’s Note: In late June, on the Friday before Pride weekend 2024 in San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle and other media outlets reported that Tony Archuleta-Perkins—then the President of the Golden Gate Business Association (GGBA) and Treasurer of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, SF Chapter—was indicted on federal charges of embezzlement totaling over $1.2 million. He was released on a $500,000 bond, according to the Chronicle, and his next court appearance is scheduled for July 31. The GGBA sent the San Francisco Bay Times, along with other association members, the following letter, which we share in its entirety here.)
Dear Members,
The Golden Gate Business Association (GGBA) first became aware of the allegations against Tony Archuleta-Perkins and his indictment on June 29 when the local news broke the story. The Board immediately accepted the resignation of Mr. Archuleta-Perkins from the position of President and removed all of his financial- and decision-making powers.
The Board subsequently appointed GGBA board member Nancy J. Geenen to the role of acting President. Ms. Geenen and other Board Members have been working with Mr. Archuleta-Perkins in a limited role to ensure administration of the organization is fully transferred.
While there is no evidence or allegation of impropriety at GGBA, the Board takes the nature of this unrelated indictment seriously. Acting out of prudence and caution, we have launched a full audit and investigation of GGBA finances. This audit will be completed by an independent third party and is expected to take several months. The results will be shared with our members.
This is a trying time for our Board, our GGBA members, and others who support our community. We will provide updates relevant to the audit and investigation of GGBA finances as they become available. We will not comment on the indictment or the status of Mr. Archuleta-Perkins. We encourage our members and other stakeholders who have questions or concerns to contact Ms. Geenen at president@ggba.com
We thank everyone who has reached out to the Board with messages of support. Your GGBA Board of Directors
Nancy Geenen Brings Leadership Experience at the International Level to the GGBA
Nancy Geenen, recently named the acting President of the Golden Gate Business Association (GGBA), is a self-described serial entrepreneur. “I advise, coach, and mentor business owners, entrepreneurs, and executives who are eager to champion company culture, improve employee retention and career development, and cultivate their leadership skills,” Geenen explains at her website ( https://www.nancygeenen.com/ ).
to watch teams build trust and grow personally and professionally.”
She is also a self-described activist. “When I see a problem, I come up with a plan that I execute,” she shares.
She adds, “Having spent 25 years as a trial attorney, including two years as a prosecutor for the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, I learned to navigate the most difficult challenges, simplifying the complex and finding common ground. Creating independence through mentoring and coaching is the best job ever because I get
“With my personal experience of being othered at work and in society, I co-founded Flexability, a workplace equity and inclusion firm, to help companies transform into equitable, dynamic, and productive working environments. The experience means that I also have deep insight into the challenges of operating a successful small business. After all, that’s exactly what I did!”
A few years ago, the San Francisco Bay Times profiled Geenen, as part of the GGBA Member Spotlight feature. To read that piece, go to: https://bit.ly/4eW4UJa
Pride Saturday - Festival @ Civic Center
Photos by Rink and Juan R. Davila
Reflections on Pride 2024 in San Francisco San Francisco PRIDE 2024
By Kate Brown, Ph.D.
Dykes on Bikes ®
As 2024’s Pride activities conclude, I reflect on the wonderful celebration of inclusivity, solidarity, and support for the LGBTQ+ community that is such an integral part of San Francisco’s cultural fabric.
Pride week for the San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® began Sunday the 23rd with the People’s March, an event creating a space that harkens back to Pride’s origin in activism and protest. We were invited by organizers Alex U. Inn and Juanita MORE! to create the safety perimeter and block vehicle traffic at street intersections, eliminating the need for police presence, which can be problematic for many members of our community. Importantly, our BIPOC and POC riders participated in the march itself, consistent with the march’s theme of centering the voices of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people.
Thursday evening, at the always fabulous Divas & Drinks party, San Francisco Dykes on Bikes presented the Rainbow Torch to SF Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford and President Nguyen Pham. Our Torch-bearing responsibil-
ities didn’t end there!
The next night, Dykes on Bikes transported the Rainbow Torch through downtown San Francisco to Harry Bridges Plaza in front of the Ferry Building where Illuminate the Arts hosted a free event as part of the grand-lighting ceremony for the world’s largest rainbow Pride flag. Recognizing the 20th anniversary of same-sex marriage, this year’s laser Pride flag comprised 20 laser space cannons, creating a rainbow 4.1 miles long that filled the length of Market Street from the Ferry Building to Twin Peaks.
Saturday we turned our attention to two things that we love: throwing a party and raising donations! Our annual fundraising party took place at The Academy SF on Market Street, a generous gift of space and resources provided to the Dykes on Bikes by The Academy. DJ Rockaway donated their time, making sure our event had amazing sound and vibes. We are grateful to the many local businesses that supported San Francisco Dykes on Bikes’ fundraising efforts through donations of merchandise for our silent auction: Al manac Brewery, BMW Motorcycles of San Francisco, Chrome Industries, Cycle Gear, Dora Dome Law, Emily Doskow attorney and mediator, Gott’s Roadside, PGA Tour Superstore, Rize Up Bakery, the San Francisco Giants, Skin on Skins Leathers, and Table Wine.
Adding to the excitement of the party was a $1000 matching grant from the Masto Foundation for financial donations we received that day. We tracked the donations on a thermometer in the shape of a windy road, and as we were almost at our fundraising goal, received another $250 matching donation! Needless to say, the energy of the party was through the roof;
people were incredibly generous in helping us exceed our fundraising goals. It was a wonderful way to close out the day, having also received a significant financial donation from Code Tenderloin earlier in the week.
The generous financial donations from institutions, individuals, and families will help us cover our ongoing operational expenses, contribute to long term projects such as our Archives work, and, of course, support our own philanthropic endeavors in the LGBTQ+ and women’s motorcycle communities. A big thank you to everyone who supported us financially over the course of the weekend!
Sunday morning, Dykes on Bikes Patch Holders, prospects, and participants were on Market Street at 6:30 am, ready to start. Whereas 2023’s Parade Sunday morning was cold and drizzly at times, this Parade Sunday’s weather was gorgeous. Our team of 20+ volunteers arrived at 7 and by 8 am we were welcoming several hundred riders. At 10:30, our engines roared to life, bringing the thunder down Market Street in a visible and audible reminder to the world that being a Dyke on a Bike is a statement of dignity and Queer Pride.
I would like to take a moment and thank our Board of Directors, Dykes on Bikes Prospects, and our Participants for their dedication and volunteerism. We begin organizing for San Francisco Pride in the early spring and they sustain their energy across months of meetings, multiple visits to our U-Haul storage unit, trips around the city to ensure No Parking
Signs are up or scouting out where we can stage for various events, and more.
I have great gratitude to Dykes on Bikes Patch Holders, our Prospects, our Friends, Allies, and the institutions and small businesses of San Francisco that support our efforts. Thank you to each of you for your support and helping Dykes on Bikes realize another fantastic trip down Market Street for SF Pride!
Kate Brown, Ph.D., is the President of San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® Women’s Motorcycle Contingent. https://www.dykesonbikes.org/
Tales From Two Wheels
The members of the official Dykes on Bikes contingent gathered on the SF Pride Parade route on Sunday, June 30.
President of San Francisco Dykes on Bikes Women’s Motorcycle Contingent PHOTO
DJ Rockaway was the designated tune spinner on Saturday, June 29, for the annual Dykes on Bikes Pride Party held this year at The Academy.
SF Pride Main Stage
Photos by Rink and Bill Wilson
VIP Party at City Hall
Miss Sachet Goes to The White House
Last year, the Bay Times headline read “Miss Sachet Goes to Washington,” a cinematic reference to the 1939 Jimmy Stewart film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. This year, the headline gets a little more specific. Yes, at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, I got my first ever invitation to The White House, another unexpected and tremendously exciting moment. We all have our bucket lists, those experiences that we have never had, yet hope to someday enjoy, however unlikely or far in the future. Well, this invitation fit perfectly into my bucket list and I jumped at the chance.
When the email invitation first arrived, I nearly despaired, thinking that there was no way I could leave San Francisco and the many events of Pride Week. But after a few phone calls and texts, two events were moved, two apologies were made, and my plane reservation was secured. Once again, I boarded an early morning flight to Washington, D.C., this time on the Tuesday of San Francisco’s Pride Week. But not before a whirlwind shopping spree for something appropriate to wear!
My close friend Michael Loftis insisted on popping into San Francisco the Friday before my trip for a quick trip to Union Square in search of an outfit that would represent San Francisco well, fit me without any alterations, and comply with the puzzling phrase “summer casual” on The White House invitation. Within a couple of hours of frantic stops, including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and several other smaller stores, we narrowed the selection down to a white V-neck knit top, white belted capri pants, and a red and white striped overblouse with ruffled sleeves. After finding white wedges online, addressing the issue of high heels in the South Lawn, and donning dramatic Louis Vuitton sunglasses, we were complete. A delicious lunch in the Rotunda of Neiman Marcus completed our day!
Once in D.C., I stayed at a niche hotel near Union Station, making Metro transportation very convenient. Arriving the day before the event, I explored some historic sites and generally soaked up the amazing energy of the nation’s Capital, then retired early for a good night’s sleep.
The next day was the day of the event and that long, early flight and time change took its toll. Not having set my phone correctly, I awoke to confusing signals. Was it noon or 9 am? Was the party in a few hours, allowing me time to find a drugstore for last minute items, or should I have lunch and start to get ready? With confirmation from the front desk, I wandered around to do my errands, finishing with what I thought was a quick nap. When I awoke this time, my phone read 4 pm, time to be at the assigned gate to The White House, and I hadn’t even showered! Had I flown all this way to miss the opportunity of a lifetime? Another quick call to the front desk, probably losing patience with me by now, and I was assured that I had time to prepare.
The email invitation was very specific about what to bring, what not to bring, where to go, etc. I had cleared Secret Service hurdles before leaving San Francisco and suspected that went so easily because I had been vetted last year by Vice President Kamala Harris’ staff and security. So, I got dressed in my new and fabulous outfit, applied some sunscreen, and headed out.
At the very last minute, I remembered something about bringing a blanket or something to sit on the South Lawn; wouldn’t you know there was a yoga mat rolled up in the hotel closet, perfect for slinging over my shoulder and using for appropriate seating?! My Uber delivered me right to the specified gate, where scads of uniformed police, military personnel, and Secret Service were waiting.
A quick display of my email invitation and they ushered me through the big bronze gate and into a tented holding area. There, several guests were seated waiting for clearance and my passport was taken for verification. As you must know, both last year for the Vice President’s reception and for this visit to The White House, I insisted on appearing as Donna Sachet, the person on the invitation, but not necessarily who they would expect to see. I was there as a representative of San Francisco and I am proud of the love and support that this city has given me. Perhaps because of that inconsistency, security held my passport, but guided me onto the South Lawn of The
By Donna Sachet
White House for the President’s 2024 Pride Month Celebration.
Of the reported 3000 attendees, all fanning desperately in the sweltering summer heat, I did recognize a handful, including Lance Tomas, Chief Executive Officer of San Francisco Community Health Center; Tiffany Woods, respected local Democratic activist; and Admiral Rachel Levine, whom I had met the year before. Most of my time, however, was spent serving as a San Francisco ambassador, meeting people from North Carolina, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and many other states.
This was truly a panoply of LGBTQ+ leadership celebrating together, but ever mindful of the important and difficult work ahead.
During several conversations, I had to stop and look over my shoulder; yes, The White House loomed over us, just feet away, its historic columns wrapped in the six colors of the Gilbert Baker rainbow flag. On the second-floor balcony, DJ Trifle played crowd-pleasing Gay anthems as the crowd enjoyed picnic-type food, refreshing ice cream, lemonade, and fruit punch (with a kick). The first speaker was Ashley Biden , followed by First Lady Jill Biden, who opened with a great quote: “When I look across the South Lawn of The White House today, I see your faces and I see America!” After working the assemblage up with a political call to action, the First Lady introduced Debra Cox (one of my personal favorite divas), who sang several of her dance hits, backed by two singers, end-
ing with “I Will Always Love You,” to great applause and appreciation.
A short time later, a man in full military gear came up to me and asked if I was the person listed on my passport. Although feeling as far from that person as ever, I said yes and he returned my passport to me. In that crowd of thousands, he had found me and made sure I had that important document returned to me before heading home. That was a startling moment.
If in reading this, you hear the voice of a little kid in a candy store, amazed with her surroundings and thrilled with her luck, you are hearing right. This little person, whom San Francisco has encouraged since arriving over 30 years ago, was in the throes of another “pinch me” moment. I have been politically involved, but certainly not as much as others. Yet somehow, I got the invitation and I flew to Washington, D.C., and represented all of you at this historic occasion in this rarefied setting and that’s why I feel it is important to tell my tale.
As we struggle through so much in the political realm this fall, I will continue to advocate for the LGBTQ+ Community wherever and whenever I can, holding fast to a memory I will cherish forever. My bucket list is getting shorter and shorter. Who knows what the future may hold?
Donna Sachet is a celebrated performer, fundraiser, activist, and philanthropist who has dedicated over two decades to the LGBTQ Community in San Francisco. Contact her at empsachet@gmail.com
Donna Sachet was an invited guest at The White House Pride Party 2024.
First Lady Jill Biden welcomed guests to The White House on Tuesday, June 26.
San Francisco Pride 2024 lived up to its reputation as the premier party week in the country with something for everyone! We congratulate an incredible team of Board members, staff, and volunteers on once again putting all the pieces together, amazing our out-of-town guests, and pleasing all of us locals.
We arrived back from our whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C., for the President’s Pride Month Celebration at The White House (read all about it on page 18 of this issue of the Bay Times) just in time for Divas & Drinks at The Academy and our fourth annual Pride Party. DJ Rockaway, courtesy of Olivia Travel, got us off to a rousing start, followed by introductions of some very special guests. Visiting from New York City was popular live streamer Fernando Camino, founder of SuperFriends NYC. He was in town to bring a taste of San Francisco Pride to his many East Coast followers, streaming our Pride Parade from the Bay Times contingent. Also visiting were Elizabeth “Liz” Herren, Betty Sullivan’s daughter and Callie Herren, Betty’s granddaughter, ... three generations of Sullivans at Divas & Drinks! Then it was time for a rapid-fire door prize drawing for five fabulous items, including two tickets to the exclusive VIP Pride Party at City Hall that Sunday. Remember the symbolic torch used to light the Pink Triangle a few years ago? It was on hand for the Dykes on Bikes to pass to Suzanne Ford and Nguyen Pham of SF Pride, followed by fabulous music from Renée Lubin, accompanied by Dee Spencer. Completing the evening was the Shake It! Booty Band with music and dancing into the night.
We started Pride Weekend very early with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi back at The Academy, but in the Legends Hall, for her Pride, Politics & Eggs Breakfast, attended by a slew of influential local Democrats. It was the great honor and pleasure of Gary Virginia and us to introduce the Speaker with a litany of her many legislative accomplishments and a tribute to her incredible leadership. She then shared personal comments about the political battle ahead and the need for all of our involvement. For those who claim not to be involved in politics, never forget that staying on the sidelines, not joining in campaigns, or even not voting, as all of these are political acts in themselves.
The future of the nation, the State, and San Francisco are all on the ballot in November!
Saturday night, we joined friends for a totally new event hosted by the Bay Times, traveling by motor coach down the length of Market Street, tracing the path of the laser lights cast by Illuminate in the colors of the Gilbert Baker rainbow flag. Upon arriving at the Embarcadero, we disembarked to soak up the special ambiance of the night and the location, including uplifting music from violinist extraordinaire Kippy Marks. We joined him for a chorus of I Left My Heart in San Francisco to the delight of our crowd and the many others gathered there.
Sunday, we had another early start with the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Breakfast at the Hyatt Embarcadero, seated at Mayor London Breed’s prominent table.
Nearly 600 guests heard from Speaker Emerita Pelosi, Mayor Breed, State Senator Scott Wiener, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, and surprise guest First Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. The hands-down most inspirational speech came from
By Donna Sachet
Pennsylvania Assembly Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, whose call to action reverberated around the room. No attendee remained on the sidelines after that speech.
From there, we found our way to the assigned spot for our contingent in the Pride Parade. Yes, we were in the Parade this year, riding with Khmera Rouge in a fun woodie station wagon, decorated by Patrick Rylee with inflated red lips and colorful advertisements for Sunday’s a Drag at Club Fugazi. To anyone who has never ridden in the Pride Parade, waiting in the wings for hours and finally turning that first corner onto Market Street, it is an indescribable experience! As we passed spectators four and five deep along the route, our personal pride in this incredible city and its LGBTQ+ Community was enormous.
Back in Civic Center, we joined hundreds of guests at City Hall for the VIP Party with wine, light refreshments, and entertainment, including the always powerfully alluring Jason Brock. Upstairs on the Mayor’s Balcony, we hobnobbed with those attending the Consular Corps Pride Parade Afterparty. After so much non-stop activity, it was refreshing to sit and visit with Gary Virginia, Deana Dawn, John Weber, Victor Ruiz-Cornejo, and so many others.
When we walked through Civic Center with our little companion Peanut the next day, hardly a trace of the tremendous barrage of events remained. It was hard to remember the masses gathered in front of the Main Stage, the hordes meandering and celebrating, and the palpable pride on display everywhere. We must not, however, forget that pride, that unity, and that power. Hang onto those memories as a source of strength as more difficult times loom ahead. We are all in this together; now, let’s act like it.
Donna Sachet is a celebrated performer, fundraiser, activist, and philanthropist who has dedicated over two decades to the LGBTQ Community in San Francisco. Contact her at empsachet@gmail.com
“Dear Donna, Thank you so much for joining me in San Francisco. It was wonderful to be with you, and I am so grateful for your steadfast support of myself, the President, and our entire Administration.”
—Vice President Kamala Harris
Sunday, July 14
Sunday’s a Drag at Club Fugazi
Featuring SF’s most fabulous drag performers
Hosted by Donna Sachet Club Fugazi, 678 Green Street July–September, every Sunday Brunch at 11 am, show at noon $76 & up www.clubfugazi.com
Sunday, July 14
Help Is on the Way 30: Broadway & Beyond Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation
Debby Boone, David Burnham, Sam Harris, Bruce Vilanch, Lisa Vroman & more
Touring cast of Mrs. Doubtfire Marines’ Memorial Theater, 609 Sutter Street Beacon Grand Hotel (VIP after party with cast) 7:30 pm $39 & up www.reaf.org
Friday, July 26
Divas & Drinks San Francisco Bay Times Pride Contingent Thank You Party With Emcee Donna Sachet, iHeartRadio star
DJ Christie James, SF Pride leadership, and much more
The Academy SF, 2166 Market Street 6–10 pm $15 www.academy-sf.com
Saturday, July 27
All the Tea
Retro disco dance party
Hosted by Gary Virginia Midnight Sun, 4067 18th Street Free!
PHOTO
Roland Schembari and Bill Hartman, Co-Founders
Randy Alfred, Founding News Editor, 1978 Kim Corsaro, Publisher 1981-2011
2261 Market Street, No. 309
SaN FraNciSco ca 94114
PhoNe: 415-601-2113
525 Bellevue aveNue oaklaNd ca 94610
e-Mail: editor@sfbaytimes.com www.sfbaytimes.com
The Bay Times was the first newspaper in California, and among the first in the world, to be jointly and equally produced by lesbians and gay men. We honor our history and the paper’s ability to build and strengthen unity in our community.
The Bay Times is proud to be the first and only LGBTQ newspaper in San Francisco to be named a Legacy Business, recognizing that it is a longstanding, community-serving business that is a valuable cultural asset to the city.
dr. Betty l. SullivaN/JeNNiFer l viegaS
co-PuBliSherS & co-editorS
Beth greeNe, JohN SigNer, Michael delgado deSigN & ProductioN
kate lawS BuS NeSS MaNager
Blake dilloN caleNdar editor
kit keNNedy Poet-iN-reSideNce
J.h herreN techNology director
carla raMoS weB coordiNator
Mario ordoNez diStriButioN
JuaN r davila voluNteer coordiNator
CONTRIBUTORS
WRITeRS
Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Patrick Carney, Leslie Sbrocco, Kate Kendell, Gary M. Kramer, Joanie Juster, Robert Holgate, Eduardo Morales, Dennis McMillan, Tim Seelig, John Chen, Rafael Mandelman, Jewelle Gomez, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Philip Ruth, Bill Lipsky, Elisa Quinzi, Liam Mayclem, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Derek Barnes, Marcy Adelman, Jan Wahl, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis, Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron, Howard Steiermann, Fernando Camino, David Landis
PhOTOgRaPheRS
Rink, Paul Margolis, Bill Wilson, Sandy Morris, Karina Patel, Abby Zimberg, Joanie Juster, Debra Reabock
aDVeRTISINg
Display Advertising Standard Rate Cards http://sfbaytimes.com/ or 415-503-1375
Custom ad sizes are available. Ads are reviewed by the publishers.
National Advertising: Contact Bay Times / San Francisco. Represented by Rivendell Media: 908-232-2021
Circulation is verified by an independent agency. Reprints by permission only.
CaLeNDaR
Submit events for consideration by e-mail to: calendar@sfbaytimes.com
© 2024 Bay Times Media Company
Co-owned by Betty L. Sullivan & Jennifer L. Viegas
celebrating 30 YEARS celebrando 30 AÑOS
AGUILAS Participated in Rare Podcast on San Francisco Latinx LGBTQI+ History
RAMA Blueprints on June 27, 2024, at the Brava Theatre, recorded a rare 90-minute podcast concerning the history of San Francisco Latinx LGBTQI+ history. For the podcast, Co-Producers Darren J. de Leon and Socorro Gamboa organized a panel of speakers to discuss this rich and all too under-discussed topic. Gamboa facilitated the discussion with three guests: yours truly (representing LGBTQI+ elders); a midcareer person, Claudia Cabrera, who is the Program Director at Si a La Vida of Instituto Familiar de La Raza; and a self-identified transgender individual, Tony Ramos, who is the LGBTQIA Youth Service Coordinator of Instituto Familiar de La Raza. Speakers represented their various viewpoints and recollections about Latinx LGBTQI+ history.
The discussion was lively and responsive to questions from the audience. Once the podcast is edited, the link for it will be placed on the AGUILAS website ( https://www.sfaguilas.org/ ). I hope the podcast will inspire further documentation of the contributions of Latinx LGBTQI+ individuals in San Francisco history and motivate filmmakers, writers, and other creatives to address such topics as well.
For more information about RAMA Blueprints: https://bit.ly/4ceuffD
New Guidebook Designed to Increase Resilience to Minority Stress
This month, a new book—Relate to Others with Confidence: A Guidebook for LGBTQIA+ People and Those with a Different Label or No Label —was released with a goal of increasing readers’ social resilience and assertiveness in response to minority stress. It highlights the need for belonging and community building and a safe, collaborative, and peaceful coexistence with our diverse, pluralistic cultures. The book is edited by A. Lee Beckstead, Jacks Cheng, Sulaimon Giwa, Mark A. Yarhouse, and Iva Zegura. My contribution to this guidebook is as a co-author of Chapter 1 entitled “Live Assertively.” Other chapters include “Find
Places to Belong”; “You Do To, Develop Your Sexuality and Understand Consent”; “Find Your Best Options for LGBTQIA+ Singlehood and Relationships”; and “Support for Parents of LGBTQIA+ Persons and for LGBTQIA+ Parents.” This effort and the upcoming collection series took about ten years to develop and provide various strategies to address different LGBTQI+ and multiethnic identities. I hope readers will find it useful in managing the various stressors in their lives. It is available in paperback, hardcover, and eBook ( https://bit.ly/3Lk2ZjK ).
Eduardo Morales, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus, retired Distinguished Professor, and current adjunct professor at Alliant International University. He is also a licensed psychologist and a founder and current Executive Director of AGUILAS, an award-winning program for Latinx LGBTQ+. Of Puerto Rican decent, he has received numerous distinguished awards and citations, including being named a Fellow of 12 divisions of the American Psychological Association.
Join AGUILAS! For info on how to become a member, please send a message to marcelon.sfaguilas@gmail.com
Nuestra Voz
Eduardo Morales, Ph.D.
San Francisco Pride Parade 2024
Photos by Rink
GLBT Fortnight in Review
Let’s Go Democrats
What the hell, you guys! We have just experienced one of the most ambitious and successful Presidential terms in our lifetimes. We have weathered a pandemic that should have sent us into a sustained recession, but instead, our policies have saved jobs and businesses without much damage, if you’re not counting a little higher price for eggs. While the rest of the world wrestled with massive inflation, we have kept ours in check. Our stock market is hitting record highs and our unemployment rate is the lowest in decades. Wages are rising, we have lowered the cost of some significant health care services. We have embarked on massive infrastructure projects. Our troops are out of Afghanistan, although it was a horrible withdrawal, and we are juggling a number of international crises that would explode in our faces if the MAGA right were in charge.
Yet our leader appears to be a doddering old man, ten years too old to drive a car let alone run the country! Hey, I said “appears to be.” I personally don’t think Biden has dementia. He is tired, 81, and driving himself too hard, but I assume he has the mental fire power to carry us forward for another four years. That said, who cares what the real story might be when the fragility on display means we may well lose the election? Not only could we lose, but we could lose to a frigging maniac!
I read one article that said a large number of aides and consultants were involved with Biden’s debate preparation. I can’t remember the total but it was dozens of people, as I recall, an insane circus that could not possibly have served the ultimate goal of winning the damned debate. Plus, I guess I hadn’t realized that Biden went back and forth to Europe and Los Angeles in the days prior, zipping around with his entourage like a bunch of rich teenagers on a gap year. What were people thinking?
But the only way we can switch nominees at this stage, obviously, is if Biden himself drops out of the race. As I write, he does not seem so inclined. Therefore, can we all stop with the speculation about how many Democrats might dance on the head of a pin and which ones we prefer? Our only hope is to somehow pull this faltering ticket back into contention. Hand wringing is not helpful, not even mine.
Revisionist History
By the way, speaking of the record-setting stock market, I just saw one of those bizarre commercials for a gold brokerage, in which a young (MAGA) father decides to buy gold for “security” in the middle of this “disastrous economy.” Fine, buy some gold, you doofus, and pay a commission to whatever brokerage was responsible for the commercial. But meanwhile, the “disastrous economy” has seen the S&P 500 rise 60 percent in the last five years and the Dow improve from about 31,000 to nearly 40,000 from 2021 to 2024. At least the bitcoin bros manage to make some money. The gold bugs, less so. It’s a commodity, not a treasury bond.
Oh, and on another irrelevant note, have you been reading about lesbian lawyer Roberta Kaplan of E. Jean Carroll fame? The woman is reportedly a horrendous manager, berating her underlings and creating such a hos-
By Ann Rostow
tile environment that her law partners kicked her out of her own firm!
Hey, I have no idea, but I do believe The New York Times, so I guess she’s a real piece of work. What annoyed me, however, was that all the news reports described Kaplan as a leader in the fight for marriage equality.
Woah, Nellie! Here’s one of the rare times when I count myself as an expert having focused on the legal fight for marriage equality as a reporter since the mid-1990s. That’s a quarter of a century, everyone, and Kaplan had a cameo appearance in the early 2010s, when she represented Edith Windsor for a year or two in the lawsuit that led to the end of the Defense of Marriage Act. Good for her, but the Defense of Marriage Act was tottering by the time she pushed it over.
Kaplan had nothing to do with the laborious legal fight for same-sex marriage that started with Evan Wolfson’s activism, the Hawaii marriage trial, the Vermont domestic partnership fight led by Mary Bonauto and the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), the fight for marriage in Massachusetts (thanks again to Mary Bonauto and company) and the coordinated fight for marriage around the country run by GLAD, Lambda, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the ACLU.
Years and decades went by as I watched our legal advocates plan long-term strategy and our political activists battle the right-wing campaigns of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Trust me. This was a period of time when, unlike now, I used to call the notable GLBT lawyers on a weekly basis. I used to read legal briefs and follow every minor detail. I was an obsessive youngish reporter, whereas now I’m, well, you know. Just an aging scribe relying on my vague memories.
Kaplan had little to nothing to do with any of these sustained efforts. She’s a flamboyant celebrity lawyer and she latched onto an excellent vehicle to challenge the Defense of Marriage Act. But that case, and the cases that followed in state courts and in the High Court, were originally engineered by Lambda, the NCLR, the ACLU, and the coalition that remarkably coalesced over a period of two decades to win our legal challenges. I am not a lawyer, but guys, I watched them do this, and Kaplan dropped in at the last moment to take advantage of an historic opportunity.
Hey! She’s on our side and I’ve never had anything against her, but let’s not exaggerate her impact on the fight for equality because it was basically zero.
Wake Me Up in Four Years
There are several anti-trans rulings by various right-wing federal judges this week, at least three of them, which leaves me with a dilemma. Do I throw up my hands and write vaguely about how “lots of judges are undermining trans civil rights?” Or do I buckle down and give you a breakdown of all three, obliging me to actually read a bunch of opinions, sort them out in my own mind, and then produce some kind of coherent account for your benefit even as I suspect many of you are skipping ahead in search of a more accessible topic?
Or is there a middle ground? I think there is!
All of these rulings (in Florida, Kansas, and Mississippi) are challenging the idea that “sex discrimination” includes sexual orientation and gender identity bias.
I won’t completely rehash it, but you recall that, in 2020, the High Court ruled that Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination in the workplace applied to gays and trans people. Since then, our adversaries have been insisting in various courts that this expansive definition does not apply to sex discrimination in any other instance of federal law.
Sex discrimination is also outlawed under Title IX in education, under Obamacare in healthcare, and in many other areas that I can’t think of at this moment. Does that mean that gay and trans bias are also outlawed in these instances? Logic says yes; conservative courts say no!
All of these court challenges will wind up first in front of federal appellate courts, and eventually in front of the High Court once more. Given that Neil Gorsuch authored the 6–3 2020 Title VII decision, how on Earth could the Supreme Court subsequently rule that there’s some kind of big legal difference between “sex discrimination” on the job and “sex discrimination” in education?
Pessimistic analysts say they’ll find a way. It’s noteworthy that Gorsuch himself inexplicably said that the Title VII ruling had no implications for other areas of transgender rights: “We do not purport to address bathrooms, locker rooms, or anything else of the kind,” he wrote four years ago. “Whether other policies and practices might or might not qualify as unlawful discrimination or find justifications under other provisions of Title VII are questions for future cases, not these.” I have no idea what Justice Gorsuch meant by these distinctions, but I assume we will find out.
Knives Out
In other transgender news, the Biden administration has come out against surgery for transgender minors, even as the Justice Department is fighting for transgender youth healthcare in a case that was just accepted for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. (That case, out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, will be argued in the session that begins in October.)
I’ve been torn on the subject of transgender youth healthcare, in part because experts in Europe believe the jury is out on the nearand long-term effects. These aren’t conservative experts; they are government health professionals who are generally in favor of trans rights. My main objection is to the black-or-white political battlefield we are forced to traverse in the United States. This is complicated, not cut and dried. And so here we are again in a “right-orwrong” framework. Surgeries for transgender boys and girls are very rare and mostly limited to top surgeries for trans boys. Guys, can you just wait until you’re 18? What if you’ve had puberty blockers and/or hormones? Can you hang on one or two more years? Honestly, it doesn’t seem that crazy for the administration to take surgery off the
table as we defend blockers and hormones in court.
But here’s Allison Scott of the Campaign for Southern Equality, a nonprofit organization supporting LGBTQ people in the South. The Biden position, “is a troubling concession to the right-wing assault on transgender Americans, falling for their false narratives about surgical care and betraying a commitment to equality and trust in the medical community,” she said in a statement.
“There is no justification for restricting transgender youth’s access to the very same care that many cisgender youth receive every year, “she went on. “That’s literally the definition of discrimination. We demand the Biden Administration retract this thoughtless statement and work to undo its damage.”
Since when do “many cisgender youth” receive top or bottom surgery? What the hell is she talking about? What are the “false narratives” about surgical care we are falling for?
Over at the Human Rights Campaign, President Kelley Robinson had more criticism. “The Biden administration is flat wrong on this. It’s wrong on the science and wrong on the substance.” Again, I don’t know that the “science” agrees that surgery is appropriate for kids under the age of 18. There’s no right or wrong on the science here.
“No parent should ever be put in the position where they and their doctor agree on one course of action, supported by the overwhelming majority of medical experts, but the government forbids it,” Robinson added. But “the government” doesn’t let 17-yearolds drink, drive, or vote, even though they may be well equipped to join their parents in all these activities. And don’t tell me the “overwhelming majority of medical experts” thinks surgery is imperative at 16 or 17 and a transboy can’t possibly wait until 18 to have his breasts removed.
I could be wrong. But why can’t we talk about this stuff?
Mom!
I see that I’ve exhausted my space and time without sharing an important alert from One Million Moms! Our latest warning concerns a Disney series called Star Wars: The Acolyte, which “pushes the LGBTQ agenda and witchcraft.” Released last month, One Million Moms informs us that the Acolyte uses the Force to “create children from lesbians.” Sounds easier than IVF.
The Moms are also pissed at Bounce dryer sheets, which feature a TV ad that mentions “the insinuated but obvious profane” expression “it’s the Sheet!”
As far as I know, a word or phrase is “profane” if it disparages religion in some way, which is not true of the implied expletive, let alone “sheet.” Where, I wonder, do the Moms find the various exemplars of what they consider bad taste, sacrilege or promiscuity? Do they have paid TV watchers? Do informants submit offensive clips? Inquiring minds want to know.
arostow@aol.com
a team leader, since 1988, so I write about it from long experience on both sides of the starting line.
What drew me to this event in 1988 is what has kept me coming back year after year, decade after decade: it is at its heart a grassroots event where everyone can participate, no matter whether you raise $5 or $100,000, whether you can walk the full route or are “walking” virtually from your living room, or from halfway around the world. I love the fact that smaller organizations that serve the HIV and AIDS communities—some of which can’t afford to have a development department, or host galas—can raise money through AIDS Walk that might be difficult for them to do on their own. And for those smaller organizations, whatever they raise through AIDS Walk, however modest, can make a big difference in their ability to continue providing vitally needed services.
There is another reason why AIDS Walk continues to speak to me. In a world that has largely moved on from HIV & AIDS, which doesn’t acknowledge or remember the devastation it has caused—and continues to cause around the world—AIDS Walk provides a community of people who gather each year because they remember, they care, and they want to continue being part of the solution. Sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will once again be on display on Hippie Hill on AIDS Walk day, as a powerful reminder of all those we lost to this pandemic, but also of the community’s compassionate response to that tragedy.
AIDS Walk organizers also shared some very good news from last year’s AIDS Walk: “Through the hard work of all the AIDS Walk San Francisco participants, we were able to give back 100% of all funds raised by co-beneficiary teams, while normally it is the agreed-upon 80%.”
As anyone who has ever produced a fundraising event can attest, this is huge. Again, especially for teams from smaller organizations, that can make a big difference in their ability to provide services. But there was even more good news: AIDS Walk was also able to give additional grants to all of the co-benefiting organizations, as well as become a sponsor of National AIDS Memorial’s World AIDS Day.
So, join us at AIDS Walk San Francisco on July 21! To become a walker, form a fundraising team, or make a donation to support any walker or team, just click the link. We’d love to have you with us. https://sf.aidswalk.net/
You Gotta Give Them Hope
At the 5th Annual People’s March and Rally on June 23, activist Alex U. Inn acknowledged all the challenges the world faces, from wars to the rising threat of fascism around the world, but also offered words of hope. “Together we will rise above fear and claim the future that is rightfully ours,” they proclaimed. “We’re not gathering here in despair; we’re gathering in defiance; they cannot extinguish our light.” They ended their call to action urging us all to do everything in our power to get out the vote this November: “You still have a responsibility to humanity.”
Joanie Juster is a long-time community volunteer, activist, and ally.
(continued from pg 8)
Street, we could all see, straight ahead of us, the giant Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks—a somber but defiant reminder of why we need to keep marching every year. We must never forget the oppression and cruel homophobia of Nazi Germany that forced homosexuals to wear the pink triangle—nor must we ever forget that oppression and cruel homophobia didn’t disappear when World War II ended and the concentration camps were liberated. The fight for freedom goes on to this day.
Looking up at the enormous Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks also reminded me that so much of what we cherish in our community comes about because one person not only has a vision, but also the energy and drive to turn that vision into reality. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Patrick Carney for creating this annual memorial, and somehow coming up with the energy, funding, and hundreds of volunteers it takes to make it happen each year. We cannot take our freedoms for granted, nor can we take for granted the people who work so hard to remind us of our history, and inspire us to work for a better future.”
and education programs, Asian hate decreased steadily. We can do the same for other communities once we have the data.
The other bill of mine that just went into effect aims to increase public safety for all. AB 1587 can help prevent gun violence by bringing in financial institutions as partners to flag suspicious activity. This legislation has two phases of implementation. A new merchant category code (MCC) must be available now to assign to firearms and ammunitions retailers, allowing them to alert authorities when unusually large purchases are made. Then by May 2025, businesses must start using the code.
MCCs are 4-digit codes used all around the world, and each one is assigned to particular types of products or services. In 2022, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established one for the gun industry, bringing them in line with virtually all other retailers. Most everyday charges on our credit cards have an MCC tied to them. That’s how our banks and credit unions are able to give points to their customers for certain purchases. Prior to having a code, firearms and ammunitions purchases were coded as “sporting goods” or “other.”
Credit card issuers are already trained to submit Suspicious Activity Reports to the federal government when they suspect activities are reflective of crimes, such as human trafficking, terrorism, and fraud. The inclusion of gun and ammunition purchases could be impactful because between 2007 and 2018, credit cards were used to finance at least eight major mass shootings. Gun safety advocates say law enforcement might have prevented these shootings had financial institutions alerted authorities.
That’s powerful. We must use every tool possible to end our gun violence epidemic—especially now since U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently declared gun violence a public health crisis, with more than 48,000 firearm-related deaths in 2022. In fact, gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens. Let’s do better.
Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the west side of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma, and Daly City, as well as part of South San Francisco and San Bruno.
KAPLAN (continued from pg 12)
board in 2016. So, their youth have been waiting even longer for the opportunity to cast their ballots.
But the youth persevered with their advocacy and wouldn’t accept anything less than the vote. And now the city council has taken the next step to make that happen and seek full implementation by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this Youth Vote initiative could help build future adults who will engage in a lifetime of voting, civic engagement, and community leadership?
Councilmember At-Large and Council President Rebecca Kaplan, who is the Vice Mayor of Oakland, was elected in 2008 to serve as Oakland’s citywide Councilmember; she was re-elected in 2016 and 2020. She also serves on the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC). Follow Councilmember Kaplan on Twitter @Kaplan4Oakland ( https://tinyurl.com/2dtjmazc ) and Facebook ( https://tinyurl.com/2p9dd5ta ).
DIVAS & DRINKS @ The Academy
Friday, July 26, 6-10pm
2166 Market St. (between Sanchez & Church)
Where are the women in the Castro?
Join us for Divas & Drinks in July where we will share memories of Pride 2024, thank our team of volunteers and contingent members, and enjoy a fun evening together at The Academy SF!
https://www.academy-sf.com/event-details/divas-drinks-july
PINK TRIANGLE
Pride Parade 2024 Contingent
Special Thanks to Nancy Milliken, MD, Robert Holgate, and A. Sparks
Obituary for Decency
TLC: Tears, Laughs and Conversation
Dr. Tim Seelig
It is with great sadness I report the death of my dear friend, Decency. Unfortunately, their siblings Etiquette, Civility, and Manners died, too. They succumbed after a fairly short decline, considering how long they had been around. Many people along the way did their best to keep them alive, but in the end, even those folks stopped the CPR. Now, all we have are memories and stories. When we talk about the good old days, the younger generations won’t have much context.
This is not how we grew up. We have seen and heard things we never thought mature adult human beings would say to and about each other—and in public! Such things would have landed us in “Time Out,” grounded, or much worse. We might even have had our mouths washed out with soap. My Mother grew up in west Texas, one of five siblings. She was born in 1923, and her family lived through the Depression and the roller coaster of oil booms and busts.
During a boom, my grandfather became a county judge and was ultimately elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1936. My grandmother knew overalls weren’t going to cut it, so she brought in a seamstress to make entirely new wardrobes for the family as they changed their domicile from the family farm (with oil wells) to a rather palatial home in Washington, D.C. A little bit Beverly Hillbillies
Along with the clothes, each was given their own copy of Emily Post’s book, Etiquette This was the Bible of polite society, and the children of members of Congress were expected to know the manners of the day. It was a long trip from Texas to Washington, so they had plenty of time to learn its lessons. Mom became besties with Margaret Truman.
You may not know the urtext of manners. Emily Post wrote the book in 1922, published by Funk & Wagnalls. (Yes, they existed.) It was a different time, of course. People were just nicer. And they cared. Everyone was trying their best to be nice and make people nice! They believed in that old school Golden Rule.
Countless voices were singing the manners tune. In 1940, Emily Post syndicated her newspaper column, “Social Problems.” She received more than 5,000 letters a week.
In 1955, the Ann Landers column was taken over by Esther Lederer. She was wildly successful and continued writing for 56 years. One year later, in 1956, Esther’s twin sister, Pauline Phillips, started her own column, “Dear Abby.” She became a household word. By 2016, she had a readership of 110 million. The twins had quite the rivalry.
If that weren’t enough, in 1978, Miss Manners arrived. Judith Martin’s Miss Manners column chronicled American manners’ continuous rise and fall. She wrote: “You can deny all you want that there is etiquette, but if you behave in a way that offends the people you’re trying to deal with, they will stop dealing with you!”
ing people with the food that you are masticating is absolutely gross.
Maybe Etiquette is dying or dead, but Emily Post’s great-great-grandchildren just published the centennial edition of Etiquette! While much of the content has remained intact, such as table manners, gift-giving, and thank-you notes, it has added so much more. The new edition includes tech etiquette, video meetings, AI, rideshares, and tipping.
They’ve included a section on transgender and non-binary families and pronouns. They give great advice—and had some fun, too.
• If you don’t know someone’s pronouns, asking is the polite thing to do: “Joan, what pronouns do you use?” You don’t ask what pronouns Joan “prefers.”
• Using only emojis in your texts, saying LOL, or continually replying with “K” or a thumbs-up emoji is immature.
• The number one dining deal-breaker is chewing with your mouth open or talking with your mouth full. Showing or shower-
For some odd reason, I know all the above advice columnists. Thanks, Mom. While some of them went off the rails on occasion, for the most part, they always landed on the side of kindness and even equality. But they are/ were all women! I googled gay advice columnist. Of course, it was Dan Savage! Hardly Emily Post; he does answer people’s questions about a variety of topics. It is not so much dinner etiquette but more how to write a thank you note after a night of kink. This whole topic came to mind due to the insane world we wake up in these days, where people feel free to hurl all kinds of insults at others. We see it on television, podcasts, and in line at Starbucks when the barista messes up an order. It was frightening to watch the mini-drama series Beef, which oh so vividly proves the death of civility perfectly.
It’s hard to say when its decline began. In the public discourse, we might look at Rush Limbaugh, whose radio show began in 1984. In the 1990s, then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich pioneered a style of partisan combat that included name-calling, conspiracy theories, and strategic obstructionism. This paved the path for Trump.
Reuters reports on an American Bar Association poll done in 2023. 85% of the respondents said civility is worse now than ten years ago. 29% blamed social media, 24% said it was the media, 19% said public officials.
Author Fred Parry says, “The best way to change society is to storm the Capitol, burn buildings, and interrupt lectures and governmental proceedings with bullhorns, angry chants, and pumping fists. Maintaining any sense of decorum or abiding
by mutually agreed-upon rules and guidelines has become an affront to the injustices baked into our culture. It’s been said that the United States is as close to a Civil War as it was when the last one ended in 1865. We’ve lost our ability to find common ground, debate honestly, and extend a modicum of respect to those with whom we disagree.”
This rabbit hole was incredibly depressing. Where did it leave me? In a quandary. On one hand, being kind and respectful to others is deeply ingrained in my DNA. Recently, I found myself falling prey to what Mr. Gingrich introduced: If you disagree with me, you’re the enemy. I find myself angry, helpless, and even hopeless. So, what am I going to do? Well, mostly put one foot in front of the other and continue to treat people with respect. As you are reading this, I am in Minneapolis with 7,000+ LGBTQ+ singers from around the world for the International GALA Festival. There will be 200 performances in five days. The entire thing will be livestreamed, and I am a co-host for the entire thing! That’s what I’m going to do. Keep singing, lifting up my queer family, support candidates who care about us, and getting ready to vote!
Maybe we can resuscitate decency in our little corner of the world.
Dr. Tim Seelig is the Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. http://www.timseelig.com/
Emily Post
Tours from the San Francisco Bay Times
Sincere appreciation to Andrew Smith, Nicole Ritthaler, Stacy Marshall, and the entire team of drivers and customer service representatives! The San Francisco Bay Times’ year-round partnership with Big Bus Tours means so much to us and is truly indicative of the company’s commitment to the LGBTQ community.
Please consider enjoying their tours of San Francisco and the Bay Area any time you have guests coming from out of town or if you want to see the sites of our fabulous city while celebrating any occasion. www.bigbustours.com
PHOTO BY MINDY
San Francisco Bay Times contingent members lined up for the start of the 2024 San Francisco Pride Parade.
Sister Merry Peter greeted the San Francisco Bay Times contingent from the judges’ position in front of the viewing stands at the 2024 San Francisco Pride Parade.
Monterey and Wine Country on the Big and Small Screen
I’ve never been a selfie addict, one of those many folks looking for a place to pose with the phone cam. But I might just take one on Big Sur’s Pfeiffer Beach. I would wait for plenty of wave action and pose with a studly man, both of us in bathing suits. Here is the challenging part, but so worth it if you know the iconic beach scene in From Here to Eternity. We would get down in the sand and allow waves to crash over us while in the clinch. Suddenly we are Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the selfie of my dreams! (Most of that Oscar-winning film was shot in Hawaii, but the director, cast, and crew were brought back to the mainland for a reshoot of this sexy scene.)
Monterey is one of the oldest movie locales in California. All the way back to 1897, silent travelogues were filmed there, including Surf at Monterey ( https://bit.ly/4cCb3J2 ) and Hotel Del Monte ( https://bit.ly/3W2pOhc ). It has stood in for Scotland in Lassie Come Home, England in National Velvet (Pebble Beach Golf Links, 9th and 10th fairways) and Maine for A Summer Place. In Steinbeck Country: Monterey to Big Sur, Director John Harris gives us a love letter to his home with gorgeous cinematography.
Two personal favorites were filmed using the natural beauty of the area. Play Misty for Me is a great thriller directed and starring homeboy Clint Eastwood. Though the storyline of a radio disc jockey harassed by a crazed fan was set in Los Angeles, Eastwood insisted on the more comfortable surroundings of a shopping center in Carmel by the Sea (Carmel Rancho at the time) as well as local bars and restaurants. Alert to selfie fans: nutty Evelyn’s house is at 16 Camino Real, while Tobie’s home is at 162 Spindrift Road. A leisurely collection of likeable losers and near-losers inhabit a sardine canning center in 1982’s Cannery Row. This waterfront district is named for the John Steinbeck novel and the fish factory still stands as a most visited tourist attraction.
Teen romance at its best happens in A Summer Place starring Troy
to see Marilyn Monroe at her vulnerable best. The Candidate and Pleasantville highlighted the small town feel of the area, while the steamy Sandpaper had Elizabeth Taylor living the single life on the beach. From East of Eden (the Salinas Valley) to Forrest Gump to Turner & Hooch (Pacific Grove), from TV shows like Big Little Lies (Lovers Point Park and Beach) to The Bling Ring, Monterey will take you there.
It is easy to head up north to Sonoma County for some of the world’s best film locations ... and wine. Most of us would begin with Bodega and Bodega Bay for The Birds. Locations for this classic Hitchcock film still stand and will give selfie fans a chance relive the terror at the Potter Schoolhouse (still intact) and The Tides Wharf and Restaurant. Hitchcock’s crew completely inhabited the town
Donahue, Sandra Dee, and a beloved theme song. The future comes to Monterey at the famed Monterey Bay Aquarium as Earth must be saved from an alien probe in Star Trek 1V: The Voyage Home. Visitors to this world-class aquarium still ask to see the celebrity whales from the movie.
Family favorites The Love Bug and the original The Parent Trap used Monterey locations. Four truly great Classic Hollywood films utilized the beaches and walkways: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Leave Her to Heaven, Johnny Belinda, and Of Mice and Men. Cannery Row returns in the steamy Clash by Night, a chance
of Santa Rosa for 1943’s noir thriller
Scream, and The Fog Scream director Wes Craven planned for Santa Rosa to be more prominently featured, but the Santa Rosa Board of Education turned down his request to film the bloody slasher movie at the high school. He got revenge while doing the movie’s end credits: “No thanks whatsoever to the Santa Rosa City School District Governing Board.”
It does not get better than Alan Rickman as a Paris-based wine expert in a personal favorite film, 2008’s Bottle Shock Kunde Winery in Kenwood was one location as we watch the shocked wine snob discover that our wine country turns out a top-notch chardonnay. Sonoma’s Chateau Montelena was the place I was lucky enough to visit during a wrap party on the film, speaking to Rickman about his love for the area and especially the wines. The beautiful romance A Walk in the Clouds had Keanu Reeves at the Mount Veeder Winery and Mayacamas Winery. Though set in Provence, Napa and Sonoma double for France in the feel-good romance
Shadow of a Doubt. Hitch loved this Sonoma County city as a paragon of a supposedly peaceful, small American city.
A perfect tribute to American teens and their automobiles, American Graffiti, was shot in the historic town of Petaluma. More time travel occurs in Peggy Sue Got Married, and in Mumford at Santa Rosa Junior College and the Astro Motel. The Beverly Hillbillies, Flubber, So I Married an Axe Murderer, and even Howard the Duck (which is hard to forget though I’m sure George Lucas would like you to!). Horror rears its head with Cujo,
A Good Year
One of the best documentaries ever is 2012’s SOMM: Into the Bottle, following four men preparing for the incredibly hard rank of Master of Wine Sommelier. A tasting trip through the Napa Valley with Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph leads to laughs in Wine Country. The cast and crew stayed at Andaz Napa, eating and filming at Oenotri. Two blended Latino families run a Sonoma vineyard in the TV series Promised Land. The under-rated Patch Adams, tv classic hit Falcon Crest, Pollyanna, Shoot the Moon, heartwarming Fly Away Home, and Food Network host Guy Fieri all roll up in gorgeous Sonoma. Here’s looking at you, kid!
Jan Wahl is a Hollywood historian and film critic on various broadcast outlets. She has two Emmys and many awards for her longtime work on behalf of film buffs and the LGBTQ community. Contact her at www.janwahl.com
Off the Wahl
Jan Wahl
Luke Gilford Talks About Making His Queer Cowboy Film National Anthem
While in town for Frameline, where National Anthem won the Festival’s Outstanding First Feature Award, Gilford spoke with me for the San Francisco Bay Times about making his heartfelt film.
Director Luke Gilford’s auspicious directorial debut, the engaging romantic drama National Anthem, is a dramatic adaptation of his photo book of the same name. Depicting the queer rodeo circuit, this film has Dylan (Charlie Plummer) taking a job at “The House of Splendor,” a queer ranch, where he meets Sky (Eve Lindley). Dylan soon starts fantasizing about her, and Sky is flirtatious, but she is also in an open relationship with Pepe (Rene Rosado). As Sky brings Dylan into the fold, first putting makeup on him and then inviting him to attend the gay rodeo circuit, he bonds with Carrie (Mason Alexander Park), who helps him do drag and he starts to find himself in this safe community.
Gary M. Kramer: How did you approach the story narratively with Dylan’s coming of age? He’s a blank slate.
Luke Gilford: For my first feature, I wanted to start from a very personal place. I grew up in the rodeo circuit. My father was in the professional rodeo cowboy association. All my earliest memories were at rodeos. As I grew older, I found out how homophobic, misogynistic, and racist this world can be, so naturally, I stayed away. But, around 2016, I discovered the
subculture of The International Gay Rodeo Association, and they welcomed me so warmly. I really did find my people. It was an electric charge of belonging. I wanted to write about that, and for Dylan’s story to reflect my own— discovering this community and becoming part of it. And for Dylan to serve as the audience’s eyes and ears to discover this world along with him. We can go on this journey with him.
Gary M. Kramer: Can you describe the worldbuilding of “The House of Splendor,” and this pocket of genderqueer and sex positive characters that exist in the American West?
Luke Gilford: It was very much a personal process, and that’s been beautiful to see when we are sharing the film, how folks who can relate to this world and the restraint I used. So much queer culture and queer films are over the top. There’s a lot of naturalism to this world I wanted to bring. I have lived on a queer ranch in Tennessee and others in the Southwest. There was a lot of attention to detail wanting it to feel realistic.
Gary M. Kramer: What is an example of a realistic detail in the film?
Luke Gilford: The mushroom sequence. A lot of drug sequences are super trippy in films, but they were out on the ranch, which is their property, and rolling around in the dirt and cuddling as a group and it was more of a laid-back subtle moment, but it was when Dylan feels part of something for the first time.
Gary M. Kramer: Dylan experiences both harsh realism and has fantasy sequences in the film. Can you talk about his developing his character,
an innocent intrigued, bewitched, and seduced?
Luke Gilford: Such is life, right?! That’s the human experience. All within a day we can feel seduced, dazzled, grief, longing, joy, trauma—all of those things. That was part of growing up and coming of age. We have our chosen family, and we have our biological family. I wanted to show that process of finding your people, but also coming to terms with and healing the relationship with our biological family. That was important to me to depict both of those processes.
Gary M. Kramer: What can you say about filming the rodeo scene?
Luke Gilford: It’s very much informed by my many years in this subculture. I wanted to accurately dignify this world on screen and share it in an authentic light. We were at real rodeos for all those scenes. It was important to me to not recreate any rodeos. We were there with real people and the real community. What you are seeing is it. That fluidity exists in real life. I am so inspired by it.
Gary M. Kramer: Can you talk about the title, National Anthem, which was also the title of your photography book?
Luke Gilford: These are queer people living in red states and not stopping to
Film
Gary M. Kramer
Luke Gilford
apologize and explain themselves. They are living their truth every day, bravely. We know how scary a time it is, especially in these red states, where there is this brutal dehumanizing violence every day. And they are still bravely living their truth. Not only that, they are taking back the flag and cowboy archetypes that are traditionally so heteronormative and masculine. They are saying, “I can be a cowboy, too, even if I am nonbinary, or trans, or Black, or a woman.” That’s really what America should symbolize, the freedom to be whatever we want to be. The flag should represent all of us. That’s where the title comes from. It was
something I noticed early on at the rodeos, that reclaiming of Americana.
© 2024 Gary M. Kramer
Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” He teaches Short Attention Span Cinema at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute and is the moderator for Cinema Salon, a weekly film discussion group. Follow him on Twitter @garymkramer
Leave Signs
There is a Swahili proverb that states: “One fire brand after another keeps fire burning.” I wish I’d known that bit of wisdom years earlier when a young, African American woman told me how disappointed she was in “baby boomers” because we went all out with radical ideas and actions “for a while.” Then she asked: “Why did we just (according to her) give up, go home to have kids, and work straight jobs?” I tried to explain that many of us were still child-free and had held down jobs the entire time we were contributing to the process of changing the world.
I also told the young woman (I never got the hang of the gens: X, Millennials, Z) who was about 30, that I couldn’t go into a long answer to her question because I had
Jewelle Gomez Firebrands Unite
to get to my meeting of Old Lesbians Organizing for Change ( https://oloc.org/ ).
Years earlier I felt a similar frustration listening to some of the writers who’d been published by the lesbian feminist press, Firebrand Books. They complained bitterly when its founder/editor, Nancy K. Bereano decided to retire. After almost singlehandedly editing, shepherding through produc-
tion, and promoting over 100 lesbian/feminist titles (including 3 of my own), Bereano removed herself from publishing in 2000; but she has yet to up her role as a community activist in Ithaca, New York, where she founded the press in 1984.
Our steps are slower but we’re still marching—it wasn’t only college students who organized for the election of Barack
Top of your stack
RECOMMENDATIONS
FROM BOOK
PASSAGE
Obama. We’ve had treatment for glaucoma and cataracts, but still envision societal change. We’ve had surgery on our backs, feet, shoulders, colons, hearts, and just about every organ that hasn’t been removed, yet we still raise our voices and rally.
And we do continue to hoist up our progressive agenda knowing we’re carrying the banner of those movements that went before us: labor, suffragists, civil rights, anti-war. Most of us realize all the movements are connected and that change is more of a relay race than a sprint. In a relay each team member is responsible for their stretch of the track while the next runner picks up the baton (or firebrand) and keeps moving it forward.
Lesbians as well as other progressive and Queer activists were especially vocal during the struggles of the 1970s and 1980s because of the misogyny that’s so embedded in the general culture. Dismissal and denigration of women and lesbians is evidenced everywhere: on tv channels devoted to female victimhood as entertainment, in contract negotiations for female professionals, in Newsweek opinion pieces (Are you over thirty, unmarried, and childless? Shame!), in headlines (women were only 24% of news subjects or sources), and Supreme Court rulings.
(continued on page 42)
Lit Snax
Swift River (fiction - hardcover) by Essie Chambers
Set in 1987, Swift River concerns a Black mother and daughter living in poverty, a missing father, and the long-hidden racist history of a declining New England mill town.
The Lion Women of Tehran (fictionhardcover) by Marjan Kamali
The Lion Women of Tehran is a powerful coming-of-age story that follows two friends spanning three decades in Iran as they navigate love, loss, and societal upheaval during their chase for independence.
Upcoming Events
Little Rot (fiction - hardcover) by Armistead Maupin
A weekend trip to Nigeria’s elite underworld spirals into a fight for survival for five friends entangled in sex, lies, and brutal violence.
Sunday, July 14 @ 2 pm (free - Ferry Building store SF) Adrienne Chung, author of Organs of Little Importance
This beautiful poetry collection explores why we hold onto thought processes that don’t seem important anymore, like first impressions, pointless worries, and memories that don’t seem relevant.
Wednesday, July 17 @ 6 pm (free - Corte Madera store)
(continued on page 42)
Literary wunderkind Santiago Jose Sanchez penned his impatiently awaited first novel and it is getting rave reviews. It follows the complex dynamic between a son and his mother while exploring issues around immigration and queerness with lush, poetic prose.
This novel, set in the Bay Area, paints a witty, relatable, sexy, surprising, and ultimately mesmerizing portrait of a queer/bi love triangle.
One and Done by Frederick Smith
Dr. Taylor James aspires to be one of the few queer, Black university presidents in the U.S. Then he runs into sexy Dustin at a Castro District brunch. After a single night of passion, could romance blossom, or will they be one and done? Smith will be appearing at Fabulosa on July 18th at 7 pm with fellow Bold Strokes Press authors Clifford Mae Henderson and Ashley Bartlett.
https://www.fabulosabooks.com/
Hombrecito by Santiago Jose Sanchez
Jewelle Gomez
Alice Sadie Celine by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright
Nancy K. Bereano
This Month at the Farmers’ Market
Heirloom Tomatoes
For those who appreciate a tomato’s simplest, most delicious form, the arrival of summer’s exquisite heirloom tomatoes is a yearly delight. They are being harvested now and you can look forward to the wonderful colors, shapes, sizes, and flavors of these beauties arriving at your farmers’ market soon.
Local farmers have told us that heirloom tomatoes are scheduled to arrive right on time this year. The rain we had this last winter was a boon to production and growth, leaving farmers to begin picking a bountiful crop.
What is an heirloom tomato exactly? An heirloom is generally considered to be a variety passed down through several generations because of its valued characteristics such as flavor, growth habits, and ease of production. They are “open-pollinated” tomatoes as opposed to today’s hybrids. Types with long histories include Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Jubilee, and German Green. Each
By Debra Morris
variety is truly unique, with sometimes contorted, fun shapes and gorgeous colors, and ranging in size from tiny heirloom cherry tomatoes to gigantic Cherokee Purples.
Heirloom tomatoes do not usually travel well because of their thin skins. They also have a shorter shelf life than conventional tomatoes, thus they are ideally suited for local farmers to grow because they can be quickly brought to market once they are ripe.
Oven Sundried Tomatoes
2 to 3 pints heirloom cherry tomatoes with yellow, orange, red, and purple colors
Pinch fine salt or garlic salt
Olive oil
Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat on low to 225°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil.
Cut the tomatoes in half and arrange them cut-side up, closely together, in a single layer. Sprinkle lightly with salt. You can also sprinkle with dried basil and garlic salt instead of regular salt. Go easy on salt as the tomatoes get saltier when dehydrated!
Bake for 4 to 5 hours. Check toward the last half hour to see if they are soft, shriveled, and leathery. Let cool thoroughly.
Pack them in a jar and fill it with enough olive oil to cover the tomatoes. They should last two to three weeks in the refrigerator.
You’ll find only the best and most flavorful heirloom tomatoes at your local farmers’ market. There will be so many varieties and so many gorgeous colors from which to choose! Make a Caprese Salad with big slabs of Brandywines, tomato pie
with German Greens, or try our Oven Sundried Tomatoes made with colorful heirloom cherry tomatoes.
Debra Morris is a spokesperson for the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association. For more information and recipes: https://www.pcfma.org/
Perbacco’s Umberto Gibin: What Makes a Great Maître’d? Bay Times Dines
The Gay Gourmet
David Landis
Umberto Gibin is the long-time proprietor at one of the Financial District’s best Italian restaurants, Perbacco. We met years ago at the Grand Café on Geary, where Umberto oversaw a divinely luxurious dining space that was part of the Kimpton’s Monaco Hotel at the time. It was my “go-to” spot for a business lunch, or a place to impress out of towners. But beyond the room, Umberto made you feel like part of the family. As my friend Laura Werlin said, “Umberto is the consummate maître’d—the type you don’t see anymore, who makes everyone feel special, is unflappable, classy (no one dresses better than he does), and somehow manages to keep his head above water.” So, it seemed appropriate to ask Umberto about what makes a great host, and the secret to his success.
David Landis: We met years ago at the Grand Café. Tell me a little bit about your background, and your hospitality trajectory.
Umberto Gibin: I got into hospitality because I didn’t want to go to school for a long time, becoming an attorney or doctor. The teacher in Turino (Turin) gave all of us direction on our expertise.
She suggested to go to hotel school because it would allow me to travel, and languages were easy for me. I had no knowledge of the hotel/hospitality business. I got a degree in hotel management. My very first job (at 15) was at a luxurious hotel outside Frankfurt. They gave me a black tuxedo suit. I thought, “I’m in heaven.” I worked all over Europe: France, England, Italy, and Switzerland. Then I decided to come to San Francisco.
I took a cruise and met a young lady in November of 1978 and thought San Francisco was beautiful: it was misty, I. Magnin was decorated for Christmas, and I fell in love with the city. I left only for a short time to go to Los Angeles to come back with a beautiful wife and a daughter. My first job in San Francisco was at Ernie’s (1979–1981); I worked at Donatello with the chef who later went to Acquerello and at Ciao in Jackson Square during lunchtime. Larry Mindel, who became my partner, came to lunch, phoned me after lunch, and offered me the assistant manager position at Ciao. It was a great opportunity to move up.
Three months later, he asked me to go to Chianti on Melrose in Los Angeles until 1986, when Larry, myself, and a couple of people left Spectrum (the owning partners at Chianti) to start Il Fornaio. Il Fornaio at the time was only bakeries, and the only restaurant was in Los Angeles. Then Il Fornaio expanded in Northern California, and we opened many restaurants. In 1999, I joined Kimpton, and I met Andrew Freeman. The Grand Café was a very special place. I loved it. It reminded me of a La Coupole in Paris. Kimpton was a great place to work, I was promoted to Operations Manager, overseeing Masa’s, the Fifth Floor, and Splendido
In 2004, a group of friends encouraged me to open a restaurant. I finally decided to (take the plunge), and my wife asked who should be my partner/chef: I
immediately thought about Staffan Terje —we met years before when he was working in Irvine in 1986. We got reacquainted when he worked at Scala’s. He said sure. We met at Campton Place and that’s where Perbacco was born. We wanted a restaurant focused on the region of Piemonte. I remembered that the name was displayed on a closed restaurant in Turino (Turin). The word “perbacco” explains a pleasant surprise, or to make a point about the positive things you’ve said, always in a very good way. “Per Bacco” (a twist on the name) is an ode to the god of Bacchus, the god of food and wine. I took a job at Poggio in Sausalito while I was preparing for the restaurant (with Larry Mindel). In October 2006 (almost 18 years ago), we opened Perbacco. David Landis: What’s the most important way to make customers feel welcome? And how do you do it?
Umberto Gibin: To me, either you have it, or you don’t. You must like people. You’re dealing with that. I don’t see any other way to do it. They come in to have some good food, but they always go back where they are treated well, valued, and recognized. To me, this is essential. I remember reading the social columns all the time to recognize people’s names. That way I could remember the faces as well, and greet people by name when they came in—creating “a pleasant surprise.”
When Open Table came around, we were the first to adopt the system. One of the sales points is to capture information about guests so you can properly serve them. To enjoy myself is to see people happy. At Perbacco, I’ve seen families grow. The kids who were three are now in college. The families keep coming around. I don’t take anything for granted. The restaurant is my stage. Every day you need
to perform; it’s never the same. You find different challenges, different guests. The only way to do it is to be positive. If you do the right thing, nothing will go wrong. If something happens, at least you know you tried everything, and you move on because another guest needs your attention. How do you stay unflappable? You only have to make sure that your face is always relaxed. Always look at the guests. Don’t move fast. Show that you’re in control. The guest smells the blood. Give the guest the feeling that everything will be fine. I also like to dress properly, but I do it for myself. I come from a very humble family. When I was in Boy Scouts, my mom didn’t have the money to buy a uniform, and I wore my friend’s uniform. When I earned some money, the first thing I did was buy good clothing. I always bought quality.
David Landis: Do you think that the role of the maître’d is a dying art?
Umberto Gibin: Things are changing in the restaurant business. What we used to do on a regular basis, the new generation doesn’t have teachers anymore. You can’t run a restaurant without hospitality. It is a dying art in a way. The new managers of this new generation aren’t willing to put in the effort, learn the details, make sure someone is at the door who greets you in and out, take time at each table, and read the faces of the guests. The new generation isn’t up for that. I remember at Scala’s: There was a young manager that walked around the entire time, never stopped to talk to anybody. He must have been exhausted, but what did he accomplish? Zero. You must make it work for you.
Umberto Gibin
Perbacco interior
Bay Times Dines
David Landis: Do you remember Hans Brandt, the maître’d par excellence at the old Trader Vic’s? What made him special?
Umberto Gibin: I believe I met him once. He was probably one of the first to call the newspapers (to provide news items from the restaurant). Being featured in Herb Caen, Pat Steger, and Leah Garchik was important. He knew the art. He knew everybody. He knew the children. He was old school.
David Landis: Which hosts/hostesses in town do you think do an exemplary job?
Umberto Gibin: I don’t know every hostess in town—a couple I like are: one who used to work with me, Bethlehem, at Kokkari. She is attractive, with a sweet face and a sweet voice, and always very poised. You never see the stress on her face. The first time she sees you, she is happy to see you. She was the manager at Barbacco before we closed. A quintessential hostess. In Montclair in Oakland, another former employee is at Perle; her name is Helen. She also has the sweet demeanor, a great smile— that’s all it takes. It’s important to be genuine, not phony.
David Landis: Tell me about the worst customer experience you had, and how you handled it. How do you win a customer back when there’s been a misstep?
Umberto Gibin: We had just opened Perbacco, and had a family in a semi-private room upstairs. They were very rude, disputing the bill, etc. I did lose it, and I said, “Please don’t come back anymore.” This is something you should never say. They wrote a terrible review. The minute I said it, I knew I was in the wrong by saying it. I told them I will do anything to make it up and I tried to make it up to them. I learned from that to keep going, and just walk away if you can’t adjust the situation.
David Landis: What do you think of the trend towards QR codes, less waiters, no hosts, robots, etc. in restaurants?
Umberto Gibin: Personally, I hate the QR codes. In my opinion, with QR codes you can lose sales. We wanted to have another glass of wine at a restaurant with QR codes, but it was too complicated, so we left. Some organization just did a survey and found that a majority of people don’t like QR codes. I can see the trend that ordering at the counter with limited service may work out. Is it a big deal to go up to a counter to ask for something? To me, yes. I think this type of service may multiply because it cuts the labor down; if you’re ok with less service, it may work.
David Landis: I heard you had a health scare a while back. Every-
thing ok? Did that affect your perspective for work?
Umberto Gibin: I was diagnosed with cancer in my neck 4 l/2 years ago. I started therapy 3 days before we had to shut down the restaurant due to COVID-19. I was told by the doctors I had to be quarantined at home, because I was immune compromised. I was scared to death. The support I got from friends and family kept me going. I kept a positive attitude, and I thought I’m going to beat this. The restaurant changed to takeout only, and Staffan had to do it all on his own. It was eating me inside that I couldn’t be here. Luckily, everything went well. I’m still under observation but the disease is gone. I have no symptoms. I went back into my regular routine immediately. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was able to defeat this and move on.
David Landis: Do you think that the Financial District is coming back? Will we see more activity soon?
Umberto Gibin: In my opinion, it has gotten a bit worse, so I don’t really know when things will change. Currently, we work well on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (people are back at work those days). Fridays are up and down (people usually take off on Fridays for the weekend), and Saturdays are a disaster.
David Landis: What’s your favorite dish at Perbacco?
Umberto Gibin: Personally, I have two favorites: the agnolotti dal plin (pinched pasta with roasted meats and vegetables), and the tajarin (thin noodles with pork sugo and porcini mushrooms). These are two of the pastas that have never left the menu.
David Landis: Any plans to bring back Barbacco?
Umberto Gibin: I have thought of a limited-service type of restaurant if we reopen Barbacco, but we need foot traffic, which we don’t have quite yet.
David Landis: Where do you like to eat out when you’re not at Perbacco?
Umberto Gibin: I like to try new places. But in my neighborhood, Montclair, I like to go to Perle, Wood Tavern , and À Côté. In San Francisco, I also like Waterbar and Hog Island at the Ferry Building. I think Hog Island has the only people who really know how to shuck oysters.
David Landis: Anything else?
Umberto Gibin: What happened with the pandemic turned the city around, at least certain areas. I wish things would change, and change quickly. It’s great to see the support we get from our guests. This keeps me alive. Perbacco is still
(continued on page 42)
Pride Day at the Ballpark
During Pride month, our local Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, the Oakland Athletics (A’s) and the San Francisco Giants, hosted their Pride Day at their respective ballparks in celebration of LGBTQ+ visibility and equality for all marginalized peoples. Since the A’s have a foot out of the Bay Area, I thought it would be sentimental to attend the more likely than not final Pride Day for the last remaining professional sports team based in Oakland. It is very unfortunate and disappointing that, despite all the rich history as an integral part of Oakland, winning pedigree, and tremendous fan support, the A’s organization felt they needed to move to Las Vegas just like the Raiders.
Like many Bay Area baseball fans, I am thankful we will still have the Giants for years to come. So, I did a true daily double (for you Jeopardy! fans) and also partook in the Pride Day across the bridge at Oracle Park. Despite a challenging start to the 2024 season, the Giants are in strong contention for a coveted playoff spot so every game counts. The team needs our unwavering support more than ever!
Over the years, I’ve attended many professional and college baseball, football, and basketball games. In my opinion, there is a certain rarified air beaming with excitement and anticipation the moment we entered the gates on Pride Day. The sky looks clearer and bluer. The smell and sight of hot dogs entice your tastebuds like no other. Everywhere you look, there are signs, billboards, and flags offering and symbolizing positive and supportive messages of love, pride, acceptance, inclusion and equality.
On Pride Day, milling about the stands, the walkways, and the aisles, there is gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight, non-binary, trans, queer, and any and all self-identification proudly sporting a plethora of rainbow colors and expressive patterns. But beyond the differences, there’s us: a collective of human beings cheering together, clutching our pearls together, eating, drinking, and laughing together, cursing together, and most importantly, celebrating together.
Although Pride Day 2024 at the ballpark took place last month, you can always plan ahead for 2025 or partake in the many upcoming themed or special giveaway events celebrating our multi-cultural heritage, catering to our superhero (Marvel) and
childhood (Mickey Mouse) obsessions, and honoring true heroes such as those serving in the military, those who protect us (police officers and firefighters), and those who nurture and care for us (teachers and nurses). And just maybe, in a few years, another MLB team will want to call Oakland or even San Jose home. Then, we will once again have two Pride Days at the ballpark.
Oakland A’s Glenn Burke Pride Day
At the entry gate, we received an authentic Oakland A’s Pride Jersey and a rainbow belt fanny pack. Although they were a tad tight and nearly cut off our life-supporting blood flow, the jerseys we received were proudly worn throughout the unfortunate losing effort from the home team. It was a relief to see a handful of fans also nearly popping a few jersey buttons as they breathed out. We are not alone!
The A’s honored and paid tribute to one of their own, Glenn Burke, a former player in the late 70s who was the first professional baseball player to come out, but only after he retired. Burke was famously credited with the invention of the high five with teammate Dusty Baker in 1977 when he was a Los Angeles Dodger. After being traded to the A’s, unfortunately, at the time, the team and its management did little to welcome and support a player who was known to be gay. In fact, the A’s leadership systematically discriminated against Burke until he retired at the young age of 27 due to emotional and psychological stress. One of the most memorable quotes from Burke was, “They can’t ever say now a gay man can’t play in the majors, because I am gay, and I made it.”
Burke continued to compete in different sports as an amateur after his retirement and was a proud member of the San Francisco Gay Softball League (SFGSL) for many years. In 2013, Burke was inducted as one of the first members into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.
After the tribute, the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus sang harmoniously both the
Canadian (because the A’s opponent was the Toronto Blue Jays) and the American Anthems. Then, it was time to play ball! San Francisco Giants Pride Day
Upon entering the gate, we received a Giants long-sleeved Pride Hoodie, which was even tighter than the A’s Pride Jersey, if that’s even possible. The mostly rainbow-wearing and supporting crowd of 40,000+ buzzed with excitement in celebrating the city’s tireless trailblazing and championing efforts on LGBTQ+ issues, rights, and equality. We sat with members of SFGSL who were not just invested in the festivities but are also die-hard Giants fans. Giants Pride Day began with a historical video montage on the Jumbotron of San Francisco and the LGBTQ+ community, followed by representatives of various queer community groups carrying and displaying a giant Giants LGBTQ+ flag on the field honoring the fight for acceptance, inclusion, love, and equality.
Then, in celebrating the 20th year anniversary of the monumental decision by then Mayor Gavin Newsom to issue gay marriage licenses in the City of San Francisco, eight LGBTQ+ couples either renewed their vows or actually got married for the first time next to home plate. The pre-game Pride celebration ended with Jason Brock, an X Factor finalist, belting out the national anthem putting extra emphasis on the word “proudly.” After a standing ovation, it was time to play ball!
We had a great time at both games. Standing tall and proud. Cheering extra loudly and booing with added gusto. And eating way more than we should, stretching the jersey and hoodie to their absolute limits. Although both of the home teams lost on Pride Day, my good friend Abel Reyna summed up the celebrations perfectly: “We lost the games, but won the day!”
John Chen, a UCLA alumnus and an avid sports fan, has competed as well as coached tennis, volleyball, softball, and football teams.
Oakland A’s fans cheered a good defensive play during Pride Day
Photos courtesy of John Chen
Sports
John Chen
Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun
By
Sister Dana sez, “Now that PRIDE MONTH is over, should we be less proud to be LGBTQ? Absolutely NOT! Queer Pride is 24/7/365! Now—more than ever—we need to stand up for our rights and for our fellow Americans’ rights!”
Sixty years ago, on July 2, 1964, the CIVIL RIGHTS ACT (prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin) was signed into law “to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country,” according to then President Lyndon B. Johnson. “We have come now to a time of testing we must not fail.” Accordingly, on the July 2 anniversary, President Joe Biden stated, “It is still the task of our time to build a democracy where every American is treated with dignity, and has an equal opportunity to follow
their dreams. We must continue to move forward together, stand with one another, and choose democracy over autocracy— and beloved community over chaos.” President Biden emphatically concluded, “We must choose to be believers, dreamers, and doers!”
The mission of THE FRIENDS OF HARVEY MILK PLAZA is to reimagine the Castro Plaza as a welcoming, vibrant space that honors the late, great Supervisor Harvey Milk’s life and legacy, celebrates his enduring importance to the LGBTQ community, and inspires by acting as a beacon of hope to marginalized communities worldwide. Recently, at the EUREKA VALLEY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza (FHMP) received a Certificate of Honor from the Board of Supervisors. In his remarks at the meeting, FHMP Executive Director Brian Springfield said, “I want to share this recognition by the Board of Supervisors with every single member of the community who ever attended a community meeting about the project, participated in a listening session or a workshop, who answered an online survey or attended a Zoom meeting, or shared their thoughts in person, by phone, or by email. This project, and this recognition, belongs to them.”
More good news from The Board of Supervisors, which has voted unanimously to declare San Francisco a sanctuary city
for transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and Two-Spirit people. Our city is one of the first in the nation to do so amid a push by some conservative states to limit trans rights.
Former contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race have started DRAG PAC, a political action committee that seeks to “protect LGBTQ rights through democratic action in 2024.”
The PAC was announced in a YouTube video.
The founding members are Alaska, Jinkx Monsoon, BenDeLaCreme, Peppermint, and Monét X Change. The performers said they were compelled to form the PAC because of the many anti-LGBTQ bills that have been introduced in the past years, including legislation aimed at restricting drag shows. The PAC’s introductory video states that the group’s goal is to register more voters and to encourage some of the registered voters who did not participate in 2020 to vote in the 2024 election. So far, six Republican-led states have passed legislation restricting drag performances; but judges have blocked most as violations of free speech. Additionally, more than 500 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year, according to the ACLU Sister Dana sez, “We should agree with the DRAG PAC motto: ‘Our diversity drives democracy’!”
Sister Dana sez, “On the Fourth of July, we Americans joyously celebrated our Independence from the King of England. So, on NEXT July 4 (2025), will we be ruled by the newest King of Autocratic America, MAGA Trump?! Hell, NO! It’s up to us rebels to vote for democracy!”
“Drunk Drag Broadway” is back at SF Oasis, and this time it’s DRUNK DRAG DIZNEY ON BROADWAY ! Join the dynamic duo of Chyna Maykit as “DrinkerBell” and Elsa Touche as the “Fairy Grog Mother” as tipsy narrators whisking you away on an insane livesinging musical parody drag mash-up adventure through your favorite Disney classics from the House of Mouse with nine other inebriates singing and dancing their wigs off! Ten performances July 11–27, 298 11th Street. https://www.sfoasis.com/
The RICHMOND/ERMET AID FOUNDATION (REAF) will present their “Help Is on the Way 30th Anniversary Concert & Gala,” BROADWAY & BEYOND, on Sunday, July 14, 7:30 pm, at the Marines’ Memorial Theater, 609 Sutter Street (for the concert) and at Beacon Grand Hotel, 450 Powell Street (for
the VIP after-party with the cast). This is a benefit for PROJECT OPEN HAND and REAF ’s SMALL EMERGENCY GRANTS PROGRAM . Produced by Ken Henderson & Joe Seiler, this amazing show will feature cast members from the Broadway touring cast of Mrs. Doubtfire —with the lead actor (two-time Tony nominee) Rob McClure, hosting the evening as Mrs. Doubtfire. The stellar guest stars in alphabetical order will be: Debby Boone—Grammy Award-winning recording star; Jason Brock—Top 10 from TV’s X-Factor/cabaret star; David Burnham—Broadway star (Light in the Piazza, Wicked ); Sam Harris—Broadway/cabaret star; Faith Prince—Tony Award-winning (Guys & Dolls) Broadway star; Bruce Vilanch—Broadway (Hairspray)/TV star and comedian; Lisa Vroman—Broadway star (Phantom of the Opera, Les Miz); Jennifer Leigh Warren—Broadway star (Big River); and Paula West—jazz/cabaret star. I should mention that Bruce Vilanch will receive the coveted Performer Lifetime Achievement Award! And please note that this is the 30th year of REAF doing GALA fundraisers for the Community, raising over 4.5 million dollars. https://www.reaf-sf.org/
SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE’s 2023–24 season concludes with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Tony Award-winning Broadway musical EVITA This captivating musical, set in Argentina between 1934–1952, explores the life and meteoric rise of First Lady of Argentina Eva Perón, transforming from a poor child to an ambitious actress, to the most powerful woman in Latin America as the wife of military leader-turned-President Juan Perón. San Francisco Playhouse Artistic Director and Co-Founder Bill English stages this renowned musical. Premiering in the West End in 1978 starring Elaine Paige in the title role, Evita’s Broadway production ran for nearly four years and won Tony Awards
(continued on page 42)
Sister Dana Van Iquity
Sister Dana (aka Dennis McMillan) was a star of the San Francisco Bay Times contingent in the Pride Parade on Sunday, June 30. After completing the parade route, he and photographer Chris Michaelson made their way to San Francisco City Hall for the annual SF Pride ViP Party.
SISTER DANA (continued from pg 40)
for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Tony Awards for stars Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. The stage show was adapted into a 1996 film featuring an iconic cast including Madonna, Antonio Banderas, and Jonathan Pryce, and was recognized with two Golden Globe Awards. A note from the artistic director: “I selected Evita because I knew it was going to be an election year in the U.S. and our democracy was certain to be on the line. I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be interesting to look at another time and place where a very charismatic populist leader rose up with his incredibly charismatic, popular wife to be elected to office and then—at least as the musical and some historical narratives say—began to dismantle essential elements of democracy?’” Interesting indeed! Now through September 7, 450 Post Street. https://www.sfplayhouse.org/
AIDS WALK SAN FRANCISCO 2024 is excited to return in-person to Golden Gate Park on July 21. Since its inception in 1987, AIDS Walk San Francisco has inspired thousands of Bay Area residents to walk, donate, and volunteer in the fight against HIV/AIDS, raising more than $96 million for organizations across seven Bay Area counties. Each dollar raised brings us closer to the vision of an HIV/AIDS-free world, where everyone can live with dignity, health, and equality. Check-in opens at 8 am. Meet in Robin Williams Meadow before embarking on the 5K walk, which will march around the park and back into the meadow. Pre-Walk festivities are at 10 am, and the actual Walk begins 10:30 am. The Post-Walk picnic will be from noon to 3 pm. Register in advance at https://sf.aidswalk.net/
The Tony-Award winning SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE has opened their 65th season with a new musical, AMERICAN DREAMS: Was Democracy Just a Dream? Running throughout theaters and parks in the Bay Area and parts of Northern California, now through September 8, all shows are free. A short synopsis: A Black man tired of failed
Liberal promises is ready to give up. But will a Conservative political victory be his dream come true? For his daughter, it’s a nightmare! Or will Artificial Intelligence catch fire before the election, like her boyfriend sees when he sleeps? Do androids dream of electronic voting? Or was democracy just a dream all along? But whether you’re asleep or “Woke”—what some see as nightmares, others see as ... American Dreams. For more info and complete schedules, click onto https://www.sfmt.org/
Join CASTRO MERCHANTS for the next CASTRO STROLL on July 21, noon to 5 pm! Featuring LGBTQ artists and live music every 3rd Sunday of the month along Castro Street, between 18th and 19th Streets through November. Come enjoy this free, family & friendly event hosted by Castro Merchants, supporting local artists, musicians, and small businesses.
Remember when Taylor Swift encouraged her fan base to vote for Joe Biden in 2020? After that, the organization Vote managed to register more than 35,000 new voters. This superstar is doing it again—standing up for democracy and mobilizing her millions of followers to get out and vote! Sister Dana sez, “I am even more thrilled to still be a “Swiftie-nun!”
Former President Barack Obama knows how dangerous Trump’s far-right justices are. Obama was FURIOUS after they overturned Roe v. Wade! On June 24, Obama famously stated, “The Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues— attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.” Sister Dana sez, “Trump and Mitch McConnell PACKED the Court with three more anti-choice, anti-woman Justices. We need President Biden to nominate Obama to the Supreme Court to help restore balance!”
LANDIS (continued from pg 37)
relevant, and well thought of by our guests. You never slow down. You have to be the very best. You’re only as good as the last dish of pasta you serve. Don’t ever take it for granted.
Bits and Bites
New openings in the Castro: It’s uplifting to see some new, great enterprises opening in the Castro, including:
Catch French Bistro is a great new incarnation of the former Catch on Market near Castro. The restaurant still pays homage to the Names Quilt project that was housed there in the ‘80s, with a portion of the quilt displayed prominently in the entranceway. The Gay Gourmet recommends the salmon, the Caesar salad, the fritto misto, and the artichoke. Be sure to go there on weekends when the talented Dee Spencer is tickling the ivories, now downstairs for the enjoyment of all.
Fisch & Flore, in the former Café Flore, is modern and buzzy, but still retains the vibe of the former Flore that was the nexus of the Castro for years. Expect some great seafood dishes like a Dungeness crab roll for lunch or mussels for dinner, as well as a fun, full bar, a great dog-friendly outdoor space, and views of the streetcars from around the world passing you by on Market Street.
Bar 49, from an alumnus of Hi Tops, just opened at the site of the old Bagdad Café. I haven’t tried it yet, but they have an interesting selection of wines and beers, along with some great bar bites.
(continued from pg 32)
The representation of lesbians is even more reprehensible. It’s like we live in Victorian times when lesbians were not just invisible but also impossible (because it wasn’t sex if a man wasn’t involved). And what was up with the disappearing Dyke March this year?
However, being known for my radical hope I end with this news: Professor Jeffrey Iovannone spearheaded the creation and installation of a plaque honoring Bereano and Firebrand Books in Ithaca. It’s the first approved, permanent commemorative honoring lesbians in the college town. Of course, the building that had housed the press is now owned by the Christian Twelve Tribes cult, which is anti-homosexual so it refused the city permission to install the plaque. The town of Ithaca—the municipality and the citizens—decided to
PASSAGE (continued from pg 32)
Taffy Brodesser-Akner, author of Long Island Compromise
A father is taken ransom in the 1980s, leaving unseen scars on a privileged family. Years later, a gathering for a loved one’s passing exposes the lingering trauma beneath their picture-perfect facade. Brodesser-Akner will discuss her book with author Elizabeth Weil.
A nod to locally owned Handlery Hotels, which is helping some great nonprofits in the Castro and elsewhere. According to the property, the hotel is “shining a light on San Francisco neighborhoods with its Summer Lights celebration through August. The Handlery Union Square Hotel has kicked off the celebration by lighting up the hotel with new dynamic streaming lights. Part of a complete refurbishing of the exterior façade, the lights brighten up the Union Square area as it continues to make a comeback. To recognize Pride, the Handlery family donated $10,000 to the SF LGBT Center in the Castro. The family will also donate another $10,000 to the Salvation Army’s Kroc Center in the Tenderloin. A final $10,000 will be given to the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center.”
Perbacco: https://www.perbaccosf.com/
Catch French Bistro: https://catchfrenchbistro.com/
Fisch & Flore:
https://www.fischandflore.com/
Bar 49: https://bar49sf.com/
Handlery Hotel Union Square: https://sf.handlery.com/
David Landis, aka “The Gay Gourmet,” is a foodie, a freelance writer, and a retired PR maven. Follow him on Instagram @GayGourmetSF or email him at: davidlandissf@gmail.com Or visit him online at: www.gaygourmetsf.com
go ahead with honoring its local hero and put it up across from the building on a cityowned piece of land in the center of the popular walkway called the Commons.
The celebration was huge; Bereano looked elegant and no nonsense as usual. And youthful relay runners seemed ready to pick up the baton. The final good news is that most of the books from the press are still available at bookstores and libraries where one firebrand after another keeps our fire burning.
Jewelle Gomez is a lesbian/feminist activist, novelist, poet, and playwright. She’s written for “The Advocate,” “Ms. Magazine,” “Black Scholar,” “The San Francisco Chronicle,” “The New York Times,” and “The Village Voice.” Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @VampyreVamp
Thursday, July 18 @ 6 pm (free - Corte Madera store) Julia Phillips, author of Bear: A Novel
Bear is about two sisters on a struggling Pacific Northwest island. When Sam sees a mysterious bear as a sign that the sisters should finally leave together, Elena is drawn to its magic, fracturing their shared dream and testing the strength of their bond.
https://www.bookpassage.com/
JEWELLE GOMEZ
BOOK
Take Me Home with You!
Meet Jar Jar, an adorable terrier mix with a dachshund-like body and an irresistibly sweet face. This lovable pup enjoys walks with our volunteer team and lounging in the yard afterward, soaking up all the pets and leaning in for more. Jar Jar has been diligently working on his doggy manners, including polite leash behavior around other dogs, and he’s made remarkable progress!
Jar Jar thrives in playgroups with other small dogs, where his playful spirit shines. He needs a bit of time and space to warm up to new people, but treats are a surefire way to win his heart. Jar Jar would do best in a quiet home without too much activity, with an adopter committed to continuing the excellent training he has started at the shelter.
Come meet Jar Jar at the SF SPCA! We welcome visitors from 11 am–6 pm (Wednesday–Sunday) and 1 pm–6 pm on Tuesdays. Please note, we are closed on Mondays.
https://www.sfspca.org/adoptions/
Fitness SF Trainer Tip
Aaron Zamarron, a Master Trainer at Fitness SF, shares monthly tips that he has learned from colleagues, fellow professional trainers, and more. For additional information: https//fitnesssf.com/
Let’s Go Home!
Here are two of the many pets now available for adoption at Oakland Animal Services (OAS):
Misty and Finley are a pair of 3-month-old friendly kittens who love to play. Young kittens do best when they grow up with another kitten friend(s), and these two adorable kittens are available for adoption together!
You won’t meet a dog sweeter than Reba! This energetic pup is ready to bring endless fun and affection into your life. Reba is about 2 years old and 50 pounds.
The OAS adoption process focuses on matching you with a pet who is a good fit for you and your family. Come by during open adoption hours Thursdays 12–7 pm and Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays 12–3 pm to adopt your new best friend, or to learn more about the OAS adoption process. Please see the OAS website to learn more about how you can help by adopting, fostering, volunteering, and donating: www.oaklandanimalservices.org
Ben Kwok of Fitness SF Mid Market
“To maximize muscle growth and strength in your lat pulldowns, focus on slowing down the eccentric phase (the lowering part) of the movement. Take a few seconds to control the weight as you lower it back down, allowing your lats to fully stretch when weight is lowered. This technique not only enhances muscle activation but also helps prevent injury and improves overall form.”
Who do you admire in the LGBT community? As Heard on the Street .
Friend of Page Hodel
“Page
Jar Jar
Misty and Finley
Reba
Jennifer Vales
“Dorothy Allison”
compiled by Rink
Woojin Lee “Keith Haring”
Peter Wong
“Ncuti Gatwa, a queer actor who is playing Dr. Who with radiant charm and charisma”
Sue Englander “Alex U. Inn and Tab Buckner”
Hodel, a wonderful, warmhearted talented friend and colleague for more than 40 years”
SF Bay Times Booth @ The Pride Festival
by
Photos
Rink
Special thanks to SF Bay Times Booth volunteers, including volunteer manager Juan R. Davila, Marta Leticia Lopez, Jose Miguel Vazquez, Maria Vazquez, Carolina Loyola, Juan Corrales, Stephen Minor, Ramón Aleman, Joe Rogert, Aviva Kazdan, and Hilario Guillen.
Trans March 2024 –20th Anniversary
Photos by Rink
STREET CAM
presented by
http://sfbaytimes.com/
Dirt Squirrel Clack Fan
Express your deepest desires with this loud, durable, and fortified fan by Dirt Squirrel. This fan is made from sturdy bamboo and nylon poly fabric that result in a loud “clack” when flicked open. It is the perfect accessory for keeping cool when you’re breaking a sweat, soaking in sun rays, dancing, relaxing, or simply making a point. Live your best life and be the life of the party with this signature Dirt Squirrel fan! $22.99 each.
Cliff’s Variety Gear
Got layers? Be prepared for summer like a true San Francisco local in a Cliff’s Variety tank, tee, or hoodie. The Cliff’s man is here for you in any weather! Available in a rainbow of colors and inclusive sizes. $19.99–$34.99
ince our founding in 1936, Cliff’s Variety has been constantly growing and evolving in response to the needs of our customers. Our buyers strive to keep our selection fresh, on-trend, and competitive. We carry the best of everything from hardware & tools to cookware, garden supplies, toys, crafts, and gifts.
We also offer re-keying and lock repair, knife sharpening, glass, acrylic & wood cutting. Light fabrication, pipe threading, and cable crimping are among the many other services we offer at Cliff’s Variety. If your project has gone a little beyond your abilities, we’re here to help
https://cliffsvariety.com/
