San Francisco Bay Times - April 18, 2019

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area

CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2019) April 18–May 1, 2019 | http://sfbaytimes.com

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

SEE PAGES 14–17

PHOTO COURTESY OF SISTER TILDA NEXTIME

PHOTO COURTESY OF SISTER KITTY CATALYST O.C.P.

40thAnniversary

The Biden Factor in the Politics of Space and Equality Biden’s old-fashioned, off-putting brand of a little too intimate meet and greet retail politicking in the #MeToo era finally ignited what should have been an issue over the nearly five decades of his political career: his unintended, perhaps well-meaning, but habitual, invasion of personal space was never okay.

Cross Currents Andrea Shorter With the recent entry of Representative Eric Swalwell of Dublin, California, the Democratic field of presidential candidates expands to a whopping 20 official hats in the ring. In the category of thinking about running, there are reportedly about five contemplatives including Democratic rising star Stacey Abrams of Georgia, Clintonian old guard and former Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe, and Starbucks mogul Howard Schultz, who is flirting with a run as an Independent, which reads more like a decaffeinated Democrat.

Bringing up the rear of likely runners we have Governor of Montana Steve Bullock, and former Vice President Joseph Biden. The anticipation of perennial poll front runner VP Biden’s formal announcement of his candidacy by mid-April was blunted and presumably delayed by his camp’s scramble to address the complaints from a series of women who were uncomfortable with his grabby glad handling.

From unwelcome kisses on the backs of heads to forehead-to-forehead mind melds to nose-to-nose rubs,

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Still, he has much to answer for a sketchy and disconcerting record on supporting reproductive rights, school desegregation by bussing, and the abysmal results of a crime bill that led to mass incarceration of African Americans. Each of these issues is tied to and rooted in the promise of equality—gender and racial equality.

To some, the hugs, the kisses, shoulder rubs, and other physical contacts might have been personally welcome and comforting. To others and women, in particular, (as he is prone to be as grabby with men), it was received as paternalistic, misogynist, creepy, invasive and even condescending. The uneasy impositions of the presidential candidate-to-be have been commented upon and editorialized to the hilt, rightfully bringing to the fore the implications and dynamics of gender, power, race and age. While none of the women has so far alleged or described the contacts as harassment or assault—as has been alleged and even described by the sitting “grab ‘em by the genitals” President himself on numerous occasions—in the #MeToo era, respect for women’s personal space and bodily autonomy is essential to truly embracing a basic tenant of equality.

In a presidential candidates’ field historically crowded by more women and people of color than ever, Biden will have to do better than producing a cursory, crisis management, non-apologetic video offering some contrite acknowledgment of the “changing times” and promise to do better at respecting others’ personal space. While most voters are not seeing his unintended violations of personal space as neither disqualifying or of real concern as he embarks upon his anticipated candidacy, he’ll be better served by realizing that there is seriously qualified competition in the field that represents the diversity of an American electorate that no longer tolerates, nor feels, the need for looking the other way at the privilege that being a white older male in power suggests over others.

No one likes or wants to be treated, greeted or encroached upon in a manner that suggests physical, political or occupational dominance over themselves, and especially by someone of historically racial or gender privilege. No one is suggesting that a friendly hug or appropriate embrace is never welcome from an acquaintance or even the U.S. Vice President. What is being proposed is that respect for boundaries is an indication of one’s respect for equality.

I do hope that Biden can maintain the loving, caring and empathetic qualities that many people do appreciate and enjoy about him, and yearn for in the next president. However, while on the debate stage with formidable female, LGBT, and people of color identified candidates, please—no more jokes from Joe about permission to hug his opponents. This is not a good feeling nor a good look, Joe. Friendly, cordial handshakes will do.

Through his leadership to enact the Violence Against Women Act, Biden might have eventually redeemed himself somewhat from the debacle of Anita Hill’s appearance before the allwhite male Senate panel that he poorly chaired.

And, for LGBT Americans, he was actually an early supporter of same sex marriage; before then, former President Obama was evolving towards acceptance and support.

Andrea Shorter is a Commissioner and the former President of the historic San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women. She is a longtime advocate for criminal and juvenile justice reform, voter rights and marriage equality. A Co-founder of the Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition, she was a 2009 David Bohnett LGBT Leadership Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

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American Medical Association Blasts Pentagon’s Ban on Transgender Individuals Serving in the Military Just before the Pentagon’s new ban on transgender individuals serving in the military went into effect on April 12, the American Medical Association (AMA) issued a statement blasting the ban. Authored by AMA President Barbara McAneny, the statement reads, in part, that the Association “is troubled that the Department of Defense (DoD) characterizes the need to undergo gender transition as a ‘deficiency.’ The DoD regulation also instructs service secretaries to add gender-dysphoria to servicespecific lists of ‘administratively disqualifying conditions’ that DoD regulations label ‘congenital or developmental defects.’”

She continued, “The only thing deficient is any medical science behind this decision. The AMA has said repeatedly that there is no medically valid reason—including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria—to exclude transgender individuals from military service. Transgender service members should, as is the case with all personnel, receive the medical care they need. There is a global medical consensus about the efficacy of transgender health care, including treatment for gender dysphoria.”

The statement concluded, “The AMA has played a lead role in educating the military—and the public— about the fact that sexual orientation and gender identity are not psychological or medical disorders. The estimated 14,700 transgender military personnel are qualified and willing to serve. Rather than stigmatizing and banning these patriots, DoD should let them serve.”

The statement follows a letter from the AMA that was sent directly to the DoD last year ( https://bit.ly/2wRgKRv ).

The National Center for Transgender Equality is asking those against the ban to write to their Representative and Senators to support the bipartisan bill that would “stop the transgender ban once and for all—no matter how it’s dressed up.” See this page for more information: https://bit.ly/2UWUvXl

Fair College Admissions for All

Assemblymember Phil Ting Like you, I was shocked, then angry, to hear about Operation Varsity Blues, the national college admissions scandal.

But there has always been a legal way for privileged families to get their children into elite universities under a different set of rules outside of the normal process.

This is frustrating because we raise our kids to believe that if they work hard, opportunities will be available to them. But that’s not entirely true. There’s a back door for people with means, giving them advantages over more deserving students. This preferential treatment for wealthy families must stop.

As a result of this federal investigation, my Assembly colleagues and I introduced a pack age of proposa ls

aimed at bringing more fairness and equity to the college admissions process. My bill, AB 697, would ban preferential admissions treatment for students related to a college’s donors or alumni, if that institution participates in the Cal Grant program. The goal is to push colleges with such admissions policies to change them.

The state invests $2.3 billion a year in its financial aid program that enables hundreds of thousands of students to attend college. Taxpayer funds should not f low toward California schools that have a different admissions process for well-connected families.

A 2018 survey published in Inside Higher Ed found that 42% of admissions leaders at private institutions say legacy status is a factor in the application review process, yet only 32% believe it is an appropriate consideration. This bias is evident at one of the schools

at the center of the admissions scandal, University of Southern California (USC). According to CalMatters, the school’s own blog says that legacy students made up nearly 20% of its freshman class in 2017–18.

The same year, USC received more than $21 million in Cal Grants, more than any other college.

On top of all that, most families don’t have the benefit of expensive test preparation services, private tutoring or college admissions consultants.

Taken together, these considerations discourage families from aiming high and seeking admission to a prestigious college because they feel the odds are stacked against them. And they’re right.

In addition to calling upon schools to rescind admissions policies that grant preferential treatment to students related to donors or alumni, the other reform proposals include prohibiting any “special admission by exception” unless three administrators approve it. This category is often used to recruit exceptional athletes or gifted students. The scandal brought to light cases in which students would (continued on page 26)

If You’re Coming After My Cousin, You’re Coming After Me cre at Tree of Life Synagogue, numerous allies showed up to join in Jewish prayers and vigils in response. Not long ago, thousands came together across the globe to clearly oppose anti-Muslim violence and rallied together after the killings in New Zealand.

Out of the Closet and into City Hall Oakland City Councilmember At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan Our communities are facing a troubling increase in major incidents of white supremacist violence and we must increase our mutual support and solidarity. These incidents include arson and vandalism, and also have risen to the level of mass murder at Black churches, mosques, Sikh gurdwara and synagogues across the country.

People have been g unned down during a time of openness, love a nd prayer by those spreading hate and violence. In these moments, many of us have responded with greater unity. After the massa-

And yet in recent weeks there has been an effort to drive us apart with hate-filled insults against a Black Muslim woman, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. We are facing concerted efforts by right-wingers and white supremacists to encourage divisiveness, rather than solidarity.

Congresswoman Omar, the first Somali-American elected to Congress, is fighting for the vital needs for all Americans,

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar

including universal health care, resolving student loan debt and protecting the rights of refugees. As a descendent of Holocaust survivors who escaped, I know I am alive today because of my refugee ancestors.

Those who seek to div ide the “Children of Abraham” against one another are not doing this to help any of us, but rather are seeking to make sure that hatred, prejudice and violence against all of us remains unchallenged.

Let it be made clear, we must oppose all forms of prejudice and hatred, and if you are coming after my cousin, you are coming after me.

Councilmember At-Large Rebecca Kaplan was elected in 2008 to serve as Oakland’s citywide Councilmember; she was re-elected in 2016. She also serves on the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC). Follow Councilmember Kaplan on Twitter @Kaplan4Oakland (https://twitter.com/ Kaplan4Oakland) and Facebook (https://bit.ly/2Qm2Qhk).

Enjoy the View! Check out Castro Street Cam on http://sfbaytimes.com/

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Journeys to See California’s Wildflower Super Bloom By John Chen (Editor’s Note: With Earth Day on April 22, we asked John Chen to write about his and his partner Ted’s recent trips to see California’s spectacular wildf lower super bloom. John is the San Francisco Bay Times sports columnist—see his column on page 21—and his visits to the super bloom sites remind that scenic hikes involve exercise in ways that feel more like a vacation than a workout.)

As a native Californian, I’ve come to appreciate all of the natural wonders and beauty that our great Golden State has to offer. From the most celebrated, Yosemite National Park, to hidden gems that only locals know about, e.g. Coyote Creek Cave of Calaveras County, California has

a plethora of unique landscapes, climates, ecosystems, flora and faunas, and geothermal features. We have the tallest (Redwood) and the largest (Sequoia) trees, the lowest point and the hottest places in Death Valley, and all four types of volcanoes at Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Did you know that California has 20 named glaciers, seven on Mount Shasta and thirteen in Sierra Nevada?

I discovered recently that California, when the stars align, creates the most magnificent wildf lower super bloom throughout the southern part of our state during early spring. In actuality, the super bloom happens when there’s just the right amount

Photos Courtesy of John Chen

of rain during the right months of the year with the right temperatures.

The normal desert and chaparral biomes are relatively desolate, survived only by the most hearty and adaptable plants. Because of such harsh conditions, very few invasive species can stand long bouts of drought and heat, leaving the native flora to thrive when the stars align. During the super bloom, rocky and sandy mountains and hillsides are draped with golden poppies as well as sheets and interweaves of yellow, orange, purple, white, pink and violet wildflowers. The usually dearth desert f loor looks like a tall lush or short shaggy carpet of bright, vibrant colors— a stunning visual that should be seen rather than described.

Our f irst Southern California super bloom trip was in March of 2017, when Death Valley and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park became wildf lower oases brimming with miles of desert marigolds, sunf lowers and dandelions, evening primrose, golden sun cups, phacelias and many other beautiful desert blooms. All we had to do was to get a map from the rangers, learn the do’s and don’ts, drive to designated locations, and take a stroll through a myriad of colorful grassland. Oh, and take a million photos and selfies.

Just two years later, record rainfall in winter and early spring 2019 has created another super bloom, one even more spectacular than our 2017 trip, and covering even more of Southern California with vibrant colors. This March, armed with various camera devices, sunblock, water, enthusiasm and stamina, we headed south to Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, Diamond Valley Lake, Walker Canyon (Lake Elsinore) and Joshua Tree National Park.

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is a state park where visitors in spring can take a fairly easy one-mile roundtrip hike to see gold-

Palm Canyon wildflowers with Palm Springs in the distance, March 2019

Diamond Valley Lake Wildflower Trail super bloom, March 2017

en poppies blanketing the park’s hillsides. Diamond Valley Lake has a designated one-mile wildflower trail overlooking the lake and the near 9,000-foot Bear Mountain Peak in the distance. This easy hike meanders through fields and hillsides of eye-popping and glorious wildf lowers, especially during a super bloom.

Walker Canyon near Lake Elsinore was the most publicized wildf lower super bloom with thousands of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook postings. The area was so densely and widely populated with California poppies that clear images of orange and gold were captured from outer space! The relatively easy hike over the hills was instantly rewarding and awe-inspiring! Joshua Tree National Park also boasted a magnificent wildflower super bloom near the eastern Cottonwood entrance.

Just drive along Cottonwood Springs

Road and stop anywhere that is legal and walk through large, colorful wildflower fields.

While all four of these well-known super bloom displays were as spectacular as advertised, we were stunned to see amazing super blooms along our Interstates and back country desert highways. Along Interstate 10 in Coachella Valley, the desert landscape had been temporary displaced by densely populated wildf lower blooms of bright yellow and orange.

The heavily traversed I-5 north of the Grapevine had fields and fields of white, yellow, purple and orange f lowers as far as the eyes could see.

Sometimes the most beautiful wildf lower fields are hidden in the back country, as is the case of California Hwy 18 and 247 near Bear Mountain, where we saw a sea of violet and magenta colored wildf lowers blanketing the landscape.

Although it may be too late to see some of the super bloom in Southern California, golden poppies can still be seen canvasing the northern end of the Grapevine and the hillsides at Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park super bloom, March 2017

How do you get to see the next super bloom? It can happen next year or not until another 20 years. Remember, the stars have to align. My advice is to keep an eye and ear open for consistent and long periods of rainfall over winter and early spring in Southern California. Or just Google California super bloom in late February and early March and see if it’s happening, but be ready to take that road trip on a drop of a dime (weekdays highly recommended), be ready to be among thousands of visitors seeking wildf lower nirvana, and be ready for a selfie.

Diamond Valley Lake Wildflower Trail super bloom with Bear Mountain snowcap in the distance, March 2019 6

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GGBA MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Business Tips from GGBA

Where’s the Cash? A Lesson in Small Business Cash Flow

What would bring you out for business?

Audry deLucia

Would it be peer/vendor or client networking?

Targeted business connections?

Owner/employee skills building?

Or something else?

By Mike Milan As a small business owner, I always got excited to see a month with a profitable income statement.

That meant that customers were buying, and I was being smart with how I spent money—at least on paper. There were those times where I could see that I made money, but it just didn’t make it into the bank account. I still felt like I was struggling to pay bills, even though the financial statements told me I shouldn’t have a problem. Where was the cash going?

The GGBA invites you to help shape future programming.

Let us know what would bring you Out for Business at info@ggba.com

Mike Milan

Audry deLucia is the President of GGBA.

This is where the difference between profit and cash really set in. I had to realize that the income statement was limited to recording my business process, but didn’t account for actual dollars hitting the bank account. So, I went on a treasure hunt for dollars within my own company. Here is what I found:

GGBA CALENDAR

There were five different places where cash was hidden from the income statement. These five areas were killing my cash flow and making it harder to stay in business. Once I made the connection between cash flow and profit, I was able to

Monday, May 6 Inspire SF! San Francisco Small Business Week 5–9 pm City View at Metreon 135 4th Street #4000 San Francisco Registration: https://www.sfsmallbusinessweek.com/events/

• Accounts receivable: Make sure that you are being paid as quickly as possible. I had a service-based business, where my largest expense was payroll. I had to educate my customers to treat my invoices more like a payroll expense and pay more frequently.

• Accounts payable: This may sound a little odd, but don’t pay much earlier than the due date, unless you are getting a discount. This is like a free loan and keeps cash in your company.

• Inventory management: Learn to set your base level inventory amounts. This is where you have just enough of an item between orders. Look at history and match your orders to your customers. If they normally buy 10 of a particular item in a week, then you should have 10–12 on hand. (continued on page 26)

GGBA Member Spotlight

Persistence Pays Off for Pride Resource Partners By Michelle Burkhart

Tuesday, May 7 GGBA MEGA Make Contact 5:30–7:30pm Hi-Tops 2247 Market Street San Francisco Registration: https://ggba.com/ Wednesday, May 15 GGBA’s AEC EPIC Reception For LGBTQ Architects, Engineers & Construction Professionals EPIC Steak 369 The Embarcadero San Francisco Registration: Contact tom.baker@thebakergroupsf.com

change the whole trajectory of my business and its future. If you feel this way, look here.

Michelle Burkhart

The GGBA was the world’s f irst LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce and as such we work with LGBTQ chambers of commerce and LGBT professionals across California and the U.S. through our affiliations with the Western Business Alliance and the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

Joe Maak

In November of 2018, through the GGBA’s Architectural & Engineering/Construction (AEC) Program, we were introduced to a remarkable LGBT-owned Project Management/Construction Management firm called Pride Resource Partners. Since that time, Pride Resource Partners has become an integral part of the GGBA’s efforts on the regional and the state-wide level in advocating for LGBTQ businesses within Caltrans and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Joe Maak is the CEO of Pride Resource Partners.

Julietta Nash (third from right) of Pride Resource Partners participated in a recent California Public Utilities Panel highlighting lessons learned from working with such entities.

(continued on page 26)

GGBA April Make Contact

GGBA members and guests

(Left to Right) Tom Baker, Mary Boston, Paul Pendergast and Maureen McHugh at Equator Coffee

PHOTO BY JUAN R. DAVILA

Susan Boone and Mary Boston with Equator’s Maureen McHugh

Anne Kronenberg congratulates newly appointed SF Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson, who made her first public appearance since her appointment by Mayor London Breed.

PHOTOS BY RINK

PHOTOS BY RINK

Attorney Jay Greene, GGBA President Audry deLucia and Masood Samereie

PHOTOS BY RINK

Paul Miyamoto, Candidate for Sheriff of San Francisco

PHOTOS BY RINK

PHOTOS BY RINK

PHOTOS BY RINK

PHOTO BY JUAN R. DAVILA

Members, friends and guests of GGBA were on hand to honor LGBT First Responders on Tuesday, April 9, at Equator Coffee’s location on Market Street.

Fred Steingraf; Paul Pendergast, former GGBA president; Daniel Bergerac, former Castro Merchants president; and Jay Greene

GGBA Board members Krystal Drwencke and Gina Grahame Honorees Anne Kronenberg and Chad Baker of the Emergency Nurses Association S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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Sticking Out and Standing Up in Japan His clarity pierced the air. We remembered his words earlier this month when the Japanese government announced that the forthcoming new Imperial era would be called “beautiful harmony,” whose Japanese characters could also imply “command” or “order.”

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6/26 and Beyond Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis There’s a well-known adage in Japan: “The wood post that sticks out from the ground will get pounded down.” Its meaning: Sticking out and standing up as different from the perceived norm is enormously challenging in Japan.

No one knows this better than the LGBTIQ Japanese. A few years ago, we were talking to a queer Japanese law professor friend about our experiences giving marriage equality talks and meeting with LGBTIQ activists in Japan. We told him how we as Americans marveled that Japan had no anti-LGBTIQ conservative Christian political movement. Our friend replied incisively, “Conformity and the need for harmony is a more powerful religion than conservative Christianity.”

The last time we gave talks in Japan, we visited the Manshu-in temple in Kyoto. The temple features a stunning rock garden with a 400-yearold pine tree as it centerpiece. As we immersed ourselves in the garden, we saw on a wall of the temple the adage about the post that sticks out getting pounded down. But underneath it, we saw a striking rejoinder: “The post that does not stick out will eventually rot in the ground.”

On Valentine’s Day this year, 13 same-sex couples across Japan de-

Kenji Aiba and Ken Kozumi

cided to stick out, stand up and not let themselves “rot in the ground.”

They filed historic coordinated lawsuits for nationwide marriage equality. They did so nearly 15 years to the day when over 4,000 LGBTIQ couples began f looding into San Francisco City Hall to marry after then-Mayor Gavin Newsom kicked opened the door for marriage equality here. Every time we have spoken to activists and audiences in Japan, we have told our story of how profound and life-changing participating in San Francisco’s Winter of Love was for us.

The Japanese lawsuit follows years of Japanese LGBTIQ people becoming increasingly vocal and visible in society in the face of significant social and familial pressures. The plaintiff couples represent a diverse crosssection of Japanese same-sex couples and provide lived examples of the need for equal protections and rights for LGBTIQ couples.

They also intend the lawsuit to help all LGBTIQ Japanese. Plaintiff Kenji Aiba told the Japan Times that the lawsuit “will let us share the hardships of sexual minorities with all people in Japan,” and his partner Ken Kozumi proclaimed they would “fight this war together with sexual minorities all around Japan,” the Associated Press reported. (continued on page 26)

Courtesy of Mark D McHale & Associates, Real Estate https://www.markdmchale.com/7-great-tips-for-first-time-homebuyers?

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GLBT Fortnight in Review Cheater in Chief Hello, dear readers. I write today from Scotland, where the skies are steel grey and the wind coming off some Arctic sea is 20 degrees colder than the air temperature. Brrr. While I was sleeping, the Cathedral of Notre Dame burned as thousands watched in horror, and I caught snippets of conversation about this from the adults already stirring in the house as I woke up, giving my day a surreal beginning.

In local GLBT news, someone has introduced an official gay tartan, so get your kilts and sporrans on, guys and gals. Also, an Australian rugby player said hell awaits gays and lesbians, and a U.K. rugby player “liked” that guy’s post, getting both of them into trouble of some sort. But honestly, folks. Do any of us really care about rugby, let alone nasty sounding individual rugby players? I’ll answer that question.

No, we do not.

We do care about golf, however.

Someone has written a book about Trump’s behavior on the golf course, and the excerpts I’ve seen were extreme. You don’t have to be a golfer to recognize that you’re not supposed to mess with your ball, say to kick it out from behind a tree. You are also supposed to count every shot. But in a friendly game, people have different standards. One player may just be having fun. Another may be strictly following all the rules of golf. You’re generally not competing against each other, so who cares as long as all is understood.

It’s galling, however, when one player pretends to the rest of the foursome that he or she is playing serious-

ly when he or she is not. “This is for par,” they announce proudly while lining up a putt after taking an extra shot off the tee and losing a ball in the rough. No, it’s not. It’s for a quadruple bogey. Then they count everyone else’s score for them. “Four for me!

Ann, what did you get? Seven?”

Needless to say, Trump is one of those players, but what really dropped my jaw amidst the litany of Trump’s etiquette violations was the time he allegedly drove up to the green on a lengthy par five ahead of one of his playing partners, who had magnificently managed to hit his second shot onto the green. Non-golfers, please stay with me. Before the other guy arrived, Trump reportedly went up to the guy’s ball and knocked it into a sand trap. Trust me, that kind of spitefulness is simply unheard of on the golf course. This man is beyond redemption in every respect. I fall asleep imagining him getting crushed in 2020.

Waiting for SCOTUS, Again Meanwhile, back on our side of the Atlantic, the Supreme Court again took no action on the several petitions we are watching. I never know exactly how many there are, because I have been thinking there are four and I just read somewhere that our community is interested in five cases. You may recall that I missed one about the unfriendly Hawaii bed and breakfast owner last month and had to admit, with shame, that the High Court had declined to review a gay rights victory out of the Island State courts—a victory that I had neglected to cover to begin with. Sorry!

By Ann Rostow But without belaboring the legal arguments, it behooves us every now and then to run through the cases that have been hanging around on the Court’s conference lists for months and months.

have three cases teed up for the justices to examine our communal status under existing federal workplace law and yet, the Court delays. It’s not clear whether or not this is a good omen or a bad one.

late courts. So, while the justices dilly and dally, the pressure to take a stand will only increase. Oh, and the merits of Trump’s anti-transgender military policy will eventually join our other petitions before the top bench as well.

First, there’s the Second Circuit full court ruling in favor of a (now dead) gay skydiving instructor (Zarda!) who sued his employer under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after he was fired. Title VII forbids workplace discrimination on the basis of sex and other factors, and our side has long argued that the ban against sex discrimination extends to sexual orientation bias as well.

Lastly, the Court could decide whether or not transgender kids require access to bathrooms and locker rooms under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. You may recall that we had the Grimm case presenting the same issue in 2016, but the Trump administration’s change in legal policy led the Court to kick that case back to the lower court on something of a technicality. This time, transphobic parents are suing the Boyertown School District in Philly, insisting little Johnny should not have to contend with trans boys in the loo.

Speaking of transgender public school kids, I just read about some boys in North Pole, Alaska—a real city— who decided to protest after a transboy posted a selfie of himself in the boys bathroom. Seven boys planned to barge into the girls’ room to make some kind of a point, but when the lead boy went in, he was promptly kneed in the nuts by the first girl he encountered. The other boys beat a fast retreat and the girl was expelled for using excessive force. Expelled!

Really? Do you think a male administrator came up with that punishment?

I guess bad publicity may force them to think twice about the sanction.

Second, there’s a parallel case of Gerald Bostock, a social worker in Georgia’s Clayton County who was fired after he joined a gay softball league.

Unlike Zarda, the sky diver in the Second Circuit case, Bostock lost his Title VII suit, and the full court of appeals for the Eleventh Circuit declined to take his case, leading him to ask the nine justices for review. Savvy legal readers will note that Zarda and Bostock amount to a circuit split: conf licting rulings from the federal appellate bench that usually lead the Supreme Court to accept petitions.

Third, there’s a transgender Title VII case out of Michigan, where a transwoman funeral parlor employee, Aimee Stephens, was let go after transitioning and sued. Stephens won her case before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit last year, and the funeral home appealed to the High Court.

Note that transgender bias and sexual orientation bias raise slightly different legal issues, but basically, we

I’m guessing that case number five is the wedding cake case featuring Sweet Cakes by Melissa Klein of Oregon. I really don’t like this woman and tend to block her litigious shenanigans from my conscious mind whenever I can. At any rate, you can see why our advocates squirm every week or two as the justices sit down for their conferences and subsequently announce which cases they accept, which cases they decline, and which ones just get a sharp kick down the road. It takes four justices to agree to hear a case, by the way, so you do the math and speculate as you will.

In serious transgender news, Muhlaysia Booker, a Dallas woman, was beaten to a pulp and left unconscious by a gang of men after a minor auto incident, while people watched and someone took a video. Eventually, she was dragged to safety by some female passersby. She is recovering after a trip to the hospital.

And in a situation that defies belief even in this day and age, a transwoman who was granted asylum last October has remained in ICE custody for unknown reasons, housed with males in a New Mexico compound. Nicole Garcia Aguilar escaped from rape and death threats in Honduras only to fall victim to a Kafka-esque nightmare of discrimination and imprisonment. The ACLU of New Mexico

Transwoman Granted Asylum, Not Released Keep in mind, before we move on to other topics, that these same questions surrounding Title VII and Title IX continue to be litigated in the lower courts and the federal appel-

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2019)

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Roland Schembari and Bill Hartman, Co-Founders Randy Alfred, Founding News Editor 1978

Why Can’t I Find a Partner?

3. Emerging from an Avoidant Attachment Style

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 only newspaper for the LGBT community in San Francisco that is 100% owned and operated by LGBT individuals.

Dr. Betty L. Sullivan Jennifer L. Viegas Co-Publishers & Co-Editors

Beth Greene Michael Delgado Abby Zimberg Design & Production

Kate Laws Business Manager Blake Dillon Calendar Editor

Kit Kennedy Poet-In-Residence J.H. Herren Technology Director Carla Ramos

Examined Life Tom Moon, MFT One of the most common questions I’ve heard in my work over the last four decades is, “Why can’t I find a partner?” This series looks at some of the psychological roadblocks that prevent some people from developing satisfying relationships. I’m looking at the question from the perspective of Attachment Theory, which proposes that human beings have three distinct styles for bonding with others— secure, anxious and avoidant. The latter two styles are the ones that are most likely to make it difficult to form stable relationships. This week’s focus is on what those with an avoidant attachment style can do to be more successful in connecting with others.

To recapitulate briefly, avoiders typically grew up with parents who were

emotionally unavailable or unresponsive to them most of the time. As a result of their unstable childhoods, avoiders develop a compulsively selfreliant orientation to life based on the idea that they don’t need other people. They may tell themselves that independence and self-sufficiency are more important to them than intimacy, but this is really a defense mechanism whose purpose is to make sure that they never again go through the kind of pain that they experienced at the hands of their original caregivers.

An estimated 25 percent of the population has this attachment style.

If you see yourself in this description and want to learn how to be closer to others, it’s important that you not deceive yourself about who you really are and what you actually want.

In their deepest selves, avoiders want intimate relationships just as much as everyone else, but they self-protectively suppress their attachment systems because they see great danger in getting too close to others. They fear rejection, abandonment and betrayal; or, when their original caregivers repeatedly violated their boundaries, they fear that if they get too close, they’ll be engulfed, smothered and robbed of their freedom.

A nother common way in which avoiders deceive themselves is by convincing themselves that the people around them are unworthy of them.

If you’re an avoidant type, you may be able to enjoy closeness, but only up to a point. If you’re in a relationship, watch for the tendency to find fault with your partner. Where the anxiously attached person is hypervigilant for signs of distance, as an avoider you’re probably hypervigilant about your partner’s attempts to control you or limit your autonomy.

To protect yourself, you may engage in distancing behaviors, such as ignoring your partner, flirting with other people in front of her or him, making unilateral decisions or dismissing their feelings and needs. You probably also have trouble disclosing your own feelings. You may find it very hard to compromise, and your typical response to an argument or conf lict may be to withdraw and become aloof. For all of these reasons, your friends and partners may complain that you’re insensitive and overly focused on yourself. Conversely, to you they may seem weak and overly needy, a perception that allows you to feel strong and self-sufficient by contrast.

If you’re avoidant, it’s important that you begin to question both this grandiose self-image and your tendency to devalue others. These perceptions are distortions: the real issue is always fear. The avoidant style is really a stance that protects a fragile self that is easily hurt by slights and rejections,

and is often plagued by feelings of self-doubt and self-hatred. Your most important task is to become conscious of your fears, to learn where they came from and to question whether they make sense in your current environment. Until you’ve grieved and healed the traumas and pain that produced your avoidant style, you’ll feel as if the dangers of the past still exist in the present.

If the avoidant style is really getting in your way, individual psychotherapy may be able to provide the safe interpersonal environment that you’ll need to do this work of self-examination. Ideally, the therapy experience is a reparative relationship in which an atmosphere of safety and trust facilitates honesty, disclosure and selfexploration; and creates the kind of secure attachment that was missing in your formative years. Changing your basic attachment style is a long-term process, but over time, this kind of relationship can do much to lessen the avoider’s conflation of intimacy with danger or entrapment.

Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. For more information, please visit his website http://tommoon.net/

Web Coordinator

Mario Ordonez Juan Ordonez Distribution

In Memoriam Rolvin Reid Risska

CONTRIBUTORS Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Patrick Carney, Kate Kendell, Alex Randolph, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Dennis McMillan, Tom Moon, Tim Seelig, Cinder Ernst, John Chen Rafael Mandelman, Jewelle Gomez, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Kin Folkz, Leslie Katz, Philip Ruth, Peter Gallotta, Bill Lipsky, Karen Williams, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Marcy Adelman, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron Michele Karlsberg Lyndsey Schlax, Randy Coleman, Debra Walker, Howard Steiermann, Andrea Shorter, Scott Tsui, Lou Fischer, Frankie Bashan, Karin Jaffie, Brett Andrews, Karen E. Bardsley, David Landis Photographers Rink, Phyllis Costa, Jane Higgins Paul Margolis, Chloe Jackman, Bill Wilson, Jo-Lynn Otto, Sandy Morris, Abby Zimberg, Morgan Shidler, JP Lor ADVERTISING Display Advertising Standard Rate Cards http://sfbaytimes.com/ or 415-503-1375 Custom ad sizes are available. Ads are reviewed by the publishers.

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January 13, 1952– March 29, 2019 Rol Risska, a writer and poet, art and opera lover who came to San Francisco in 1984, died in his home on March 29.

Once in the Bay Area, Rol cherished the freedom that San Francisco offered. He embraced the expansive potential of the city even as he was content to sit on his favorite bench in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse, when he might pause while writing a poem to enjoy the swirl of life around him. His community grew wider each year. To his family and many friends, Rol was at once caring and wise, genteel and wry.

Rol grew up in New England, where he graduated from Bates College in Maine in 1973. He received his master’s degree from Northern Arizona University. His career was in Public Affairs and Fundraising at San Francisco State University.

During the worst years of the AIDS crisis, Rol volunteered at the Shanti Project. In later years, he was a generous donor to many causes in the city. He also provided solace and joy to those who knew him simply by being himself: thoughtful, insightful and to-the-point.

Rol was devoted to his partner Dr. Ken Charles, a clinical psychologist who passed away in 1996. New England and Italy also lived in his heart—he savored their splendor with family and friends.

In his personal writing, Rol never sought publication, but instead shared his poems with friends. His personality was encapsulated in a line from one of his poems, “Everywhere a brightness,” a sentiment that held true even after his being diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017.

Rol is survived by his father Rolvin Risska and wife Marjorie, sisters Regina Booth, Christy Guerra, their families, Madra Christian, David Clapp, the Charles family, and a loving group of close friends all of whom he left too soon. Donations in his name may be made to a favorite charity.

Celebration of Life for Ernie Asten Photos by JP Lor A large crowd, on Sunday, April 14, followed a band of jazz musicians through the Castro in a New Orleans style parade honoring the life of Cliff’s Variety’s Ernie Asten, who passed away on March 15. Multiple generations of family members, friends and Cliff’s staff members were joined by neighbors along with civic and community leaders, gathering in Jane Warner Plaza. Remarks of remembrance and music and dancing followed. Members of the San Francisco Bay Times team hold fond memories of having met Erne Asten and learned of his role as a business owner and community advocate.

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Michael Eaton Gary Virginia, the Founder of Krewe de K inque, a former President of SF Pride and more, recently informed us of the passing of Michael Eaton on April 11. Many in the community knew Michael as “Myrna.”

Gary writes: “Michael was a long-time San Francisco resident who had recently relocated to the Santa Rosa area. For many years, he was a fixture and friend to many as a server at Without Reservations on Castro Street.

With humor and speed, Myrna put up with many late-night revelers who frequented the popular eatery into the wee hours of the morning.”

“He was a humble and regular customer at The Edge, 440 Castro and other Castro businesses.

Many thanks to his close friend, Edge bartender Jeff Scott, who remained a loyal source of support to Myrna over the years.”

Longtime Pacific Center Executive Director Leslie Ewing Announces Retirement Leslie Ew ing, who has dedicated much of her life to LGBTQ civil rights, on March 27 announced her retirement as Executive Director of the Pacific Center in Berkeley. She has served in the role for over a decade, helping the organization to grow, evolve and better meet the needs of the thousands who benefit from the Center’s services.

It would take volumes to list her accomplishments, which include cofounding the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, serving as the Development Director of Lyon-Martin Health Services, co-founding the ACT-UP affinity group Queer and Present Danger, volunteering for years with The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and much more.

Here is the letter that she sent to us and others late last month: Dear Friends, Pacific Center has supported the Alameda County LGBTQ community for over 46 years through the provision of therapy and social support services, and it is with a combination of triumph and deep sadness that I am announcing my retirement, and thus resignation, as its Executive Director.

My last day will be July 31, 2019. For more information about this role please click https://bit.ly/2DpmyF9 The last ten+ years have provided many challenges that the staff, board and volunteers at Pacific Center have collectively addressed with great courage: the recession, dwindling funding sources, and the last presidential election with its resulting repressive legislation and rise in hate crimes ... even here in Berkeley.

Our accomplishments during these last ten years are a testament to their tenacity.

Today, the organization is stronger than ever: • We are helping over 3,000 people a year • We offer services at four locations • The number of peer groups has grown from 5 to 18 • Our government grants are now renewable contracts • The budget has doubled over the last 6 years • Our reserve account carries a balance in excess of $100,000 • We now have an Endowment Fund to ensure our future

Personally, I am most proud of the work generated by the staff and board in recent years to enact systemic program changes that address privilege, equity and inclusion within our own LGBTQ communities. Pacific Center staff and stakeholders have made a commitment to continue this work as part of our organizational strategic plan into the future. We know that to fail to take this action diminishes our claim as being part of a larger social justice movement.

This culture of courage will continue to inspire future leaders at Pacific Center, and I encourage interested candidates for the Executive Director position to please send your cover letter and resume via email to: boardpresident@pacificcenter.org Thank you, everyone, for a wonderful decade at Pacific Center.

Leslie Ewing, Executive Director

All of us here at the San Francisco Bay Times and “Betty’s List” thank Leslie for her friendship, support and outstanding, dedicated service to the LGBTQ community and beyond. For more information about the Pacific Center, please go to: http://pacificcenter.org/

San Francisco Bay Times & “Betty’s List” say “Thank You!” to Leslie Ewing!

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APR IL 18, 2019

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Spring Fling 2019

Photos by Rink and Saul Bromberger

The annual Openhouse Spring Fling Brunch & Tea Dance was held on Sunday, April 13, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel San Francisco. Welcoming attendees and presenting introductions representing the Openhouse Board of Directors were cochairs Tim Sweeney and Nanette Lee Miller as well as board member Morey Riordan. Gilead’s vice president of HIV medical affairs, Dr. David Piontkowsky, discussed Gilead’s partnership with Openhouse.

PHOTO BY SAUL BROMBERGER

PHOTO BY RINK

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Karyn Skultety, the executive director of Openhouse, passionately spoke about the present and future of the organization. (A few weeks prior to the Spring Fling event, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman in a ceremony honored Skultety during Women’s History Month for being a “District 8 Visionary Woman.”) Ronald S. Johnson received the Trailblazer Award, presented by Riordan. Neil Sims was presented with the Founders Award by Openhouse Founder and San Francisco Bay Times columnist Dr. Marcy Adelman. The GenOut Award was presented to the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band following a rousing entrance and performance by the Band. http://openhouse-sf.org/

The Trials of Charles Christman driver, he added, was “shot as he tried to run off after his car was peppered” with bullets. Soon in custody, he was taken to San Francisco General, where physicians discovered he had bullet wounds in his back, elbow and ankle.

Faces from Our LGBT Past Dr. Bill Lipsky Shortly after closing time at The Stud on Saturday, December 12, 1970, between 100–150 last-callers were leaving the bar when a patrol car with two police officers pulled up. Some of the patrons were still chatting with old friends, some were still hoping to make a new friend, and many were already walking to their cars. The officers, claiming the men were blocking traff ic on Folsom Street, ordered them to disperse immediately.

Because people appeared to linger, the patrolmen called for backup. Two more squad cars, each with t wo of f icers, ar r ived within minutes. Then all six policemen strode into the crowd.

During the confusion that followed, several people were arrested, primarily on charges of failing to disperse or interfering with law enforcement.

One man, however, faced ver y serious charges: f ive felony counts of assaulting police officers with a deadly weapon.

Charlie Christman, 27, an ecology student at San Francisco State, was driving away when the patrolmen ordered him to stop. According to one eyewitness, “Police began firing at the car” after “it tried unsuccessfully to get around a police car blocking the street.” The

The San Francisco Examiner described the incident of the “Gay Bar Ruckus” the next day, explaining to readers that “‘Gay’ bars are frequented by male homosexuals.” The paper reported that, according to the police, Christman “tried to run down four officers, but missed.” Then “he bowled over” a f ifth off icer, “who was slightly injured.”

Altercations between police, often working with the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and members of San Francisco’s gay community were nothing new. Bar raids, harassment, liquor license suspensions and entrapment all had become increasingly frequent i n t he yea r s a f ter World War II, the era of America’s “Lavender Scare.” Citing the vagrancy and lewd conduct laws, officers even stopped and quest ioned men walking alone in public.

The largest raid of a gay bar in San Francisco, although not the last, came on August 13, 1961, when police arrested 89 men and 14 women at the Tay-Bush. Eventually two men were found guilty of lewd conduct. “We don’t need people like you in Ca l ifor nia,” t he judge told them. “Go back to where you came from.” The case against owner Robert Johnson was dismissed when he agreed to close his business.

In those earlier times, Christman might have been left to his legal burden and his fate. Not now. The strategy crystalized by Stonewall the year before was clearly understood by some of the the city’s leading LGBT organizations, already defending the community’s civil rights: visibility, resistance, organization, protest. Fairly new themselves, they included the Tavern Guild, formed in 1962; the Council on Religion and the Homosexual (CHR), established in 1964; and the Society of Individual Rights (SIR), founded the same year.

The three organizations immediately came together to develop a legal defense and to provide financial assistance for those who had

Photos courtesy of Bill Lipsky Charles Christman after being injured

been arrested. Evander Smith, an attorney for the Tavern Guild who was well known among lesbians and gays, agreed to defend them in court. As chair of the SIR’s legal committee, he had written “In Case of Arrest: The SIR Pocket Lawyer,” published by the organization in 1965.

Not everyone in the community was sympathetic to Christman’s plight.

California Scene, a homophile entertainment magazine, thought “the recent altercation between the police and some gay hippie types outside The Stud was foreseeable.” Describing it as a bar that attracted “gay hippies, straight hippies and student gays of confused mind and political persuasion,” it stated that the incident “has little to do with the average guy doing a pub crawl along Folsom Street.”

How wrong California Scene was. Not only had gay men been harassed leaving a public place, but they also were threatened with violence. Testimony at Christman’s trial showed an enormous lack of understanding about homosexuality by many police officers, who needed “little to trigger selective or overreactive behavior” and “a hostile reaction”—a potential peril for any “average guy” doing “a pub crawl” in any gay area. Christman could have been killed.

When Christman’s trial began in March, 1971, homosexuality was not its focus, although Assistant District Attorney John Dwyer made sure the jury knew that The Stud was a gay bar. He also asked defense witnesses about their marriage status, intimating that, because they were homosexual, their testimony was not credible.

Whether or not his strategy worked, the trial ended in a hung jury,10–2 for conviction.

The district attorney’s office refiled the charges, but almost immediately after the new proceedings began the next month, a compromise settlement ended all litigation. The five felony indictments against Christman were dismissed when he agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges.

For those he then received a suspended jail sentence, a fine of $625 and three years probation. His record was to be expunged at the end of the probationary period.

On May 19, SIR hosted a public meeting to discuss ideas for improving relations with the police. More than 600 people attended, including representatives from virtually every “homosexual organization in the city,” determined “to demonstrate to the police department of this city that the wanton use of deadly force against members of our community will no longer be tolerated.” It would be almost five more years before same-sex intimacy between consenting adults became legal in California.

Bill Lipsky, Ph.D., author of “Gay and Lesbian San Francisco” (2006), is a member of the Rainbow Honor Walk board of directors.

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S E M I T Y A B Rink Photo Throwback - Sisters and More Sisters!

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area ) CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2019

San Francisco Bay Times legendary photographer Rink has been a chronicler for decades, observing members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at protests, parties, parades, celebrations and more. We are delighted to present a selection of images from Rink’s camera that are sure to bring back memories for many.

Sister Dana (left), Sister Vicious (right) and others held a protest in Union Square prior to the Pope’s upcoming visit. (1987)

Sister Boom Boom (Jack Fertig) and Sister Chanel (Gilbert Baker) were among the participants in an immigration protest on the Golden Gate Bridge organized by the Lesbian/Gay Parade Committee. (1981)

Sister Sadie (Gil Block), Sister Chanel (Gilbert Baker) and Sister Salvation Armee posed with balloon bouquets during a disco party sponsored by the Lesbian/Gay Parade Committee. (1982)

Two famous San Franciscans, Armistead Maupin and Sister Boom Boom, were introduced to each other by Rink. (1984)

Sister Boom Boom (left) with other Sisters attended a blood drive held at the Sutro Baths. (1982)

Sister Sadie, Sister Boom Boom and more collected contributions at an AIDS vigil held at San Francisco Civic Center. (1983)

Sister Missionary Position (right) joined Sister Florence Nightmare (Bobbie Campbell who was a nurse) who spoke at the Lesbian/ Gay Parade Celebration’s Main Stage. (1984)

Sisters Boom Boom, Chanel, Missionary Position and Salvation Armee were among those receiving trophies and certificates at the Cable Car Awards event.

(1982)

A group of Sisters, led by Sister Sadie, were on campus to protest the University of San Francisco’s 125th Anniversary. (1981)

Actress Shirley MacLaine greeted Sister Boom Boom on stage during a dog show benefit held on Castro Street. (1982)

Sister Vicious and a Bishop attending a rally (1984)

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Fundamentalist protestors were unsuccessful in their attempts not to smile when confronted during their rally on Castro Street

by Sister Sadie (left) and Sister Chanel (Gilbert Baker) who wore a Reagan Swaztika emblem on her nun’s habit. (1984)

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Representatives from beneficiary organizations received envelopes from Sisters during their Grant Party held at Harvey’s (1998).

th 40 Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Ann

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Celebrate Their 40th Anniversary Nuns from All Over the World Assemble for Momentous Easter Party

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc., is a nonprofit, beneficiary 21st Century Order of queer (LGBTQStr8) nuns representing thousands of people across 75 chapters in 10 countries. We do not make fun of nuns, but on the contrary, we glorify and emulate them. We do, however, make fun of the Pope when we disagree with his “edicts.” We serve as loving nuns to our communities. We teach safer sex. We are activists. We march for human rights. We raise thousands upon thousands of dollars for various charities.

What is known as the Mother House began in San Francisco 40 years ago on Easter Sunday by a few crazed drag queens from Iowa who migrated from there to The City, and as a joke, dressed in the dead nun habits they had convinced an Iowan Catholic convent to use in a Sound of Music production. Instead, they dressed as nuns—adding to their “Sugar Plum Fairies” act and putting on drag shows everywhere in Iowa. Fresh converts to SF life, on a whim, they donned those habits and “attacked” Lands End beach folks with toy guns and cigars. The citizenry liked the nun concept so much that the Sisters continued to show up at gay events everywhere in the City by the Bay. Or should we say: “The City of the Gays”?

Decades ago, we Sisters had been harshly accused of “ruining it for everyone” by some critics, and we decided to take back our power and use that as our sarcastic slogan. Since then, we have been injecting irreverent gaiety into serious affairs including human rights, political activism and religious intolerance. We consider it our mission to “ruin” all detrimental conditions—including complacency, guilt, and the inability to laugh at one’s self.

My Incredible Path to Nunhood I was drafted as a Sister during the 1985 Pride Parade when I offered to march with my two lovers, Sister Boom Boom

and Sister Mysteria (one of the very first bio-girl nuns) who are now decea sed Nu n s of t he Above. But way before that, in the early 80s, my good friend John wanted to set me up for a date with Jack Fertig, insisting we would get along perfectly. I met him, and John was indeed correct.

It was only then that I found out he was Sister Boom Boom. He introduced me to Sister Mysteria (a professional dominatrix) and we became a triad. The media went crazy, and we three were featured in magazines from People to The Enquirer and on TV news.

Sisters gathered at Strut on April 5 to admire original work by artist Ramon Pablo Vidali during the opening reception of the exhibit celebrating the Sisters’ 40th Anniversary.

Being with all of these amazing San Francisco nuns and going to their various events, I felt I stood out. Wanting to blend in, I started wearing what was similar to a monk’s robe. June was all about Gay Pride, so I asked the nuns if I could march with them in the 1985 Pride Parade. But since at the time the Sisters only had five nuns for the six colors of the rainbow, they said I had to be a stand-in yellow nun.

At the end of the parade, they told me that they had voted me in as an official nun, and I was not to get a vote in the matter. I have never regretted it! But when parade goers asked our names, dressed head to toe in lemon yellow habit, I quickly came up with “Sister Citroen Ma Face.” That name worked as long as I was wearing yellow. But thanks to mother Boom Boom, when we were attending the Harvey Milk Opera, he passed me a crumpled cocktail napkin. Opening it, were just the words he had written: “Sister Dana Van Iquity.” I practically jumped in my seat with glee. THIS was to be my name—forever and ever, world without end!

My NUN-conventional Path to Sainthood When I kneeled at The Eagle to receive a holy paddling as Saint Commedia dell’Farte in 1995, I doubt I knew what the mission of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc., involving “expiating stigmatic guilt” and “promulgating universal joy” meant. However, my life motto has always been, “I am here to help,” and it turns out martyrdom becomes me.

Can an avowed agnostic even be a saint? Over the years— with their slogan “Go forth and sin some more!”—The Sisters have named hundreds of people as “Saints” in recognition of their community service and organizing in LGBTQ communities.

A requirement for canonization from the Vatican is performing a miracle. I definitely have turned wine to water, but The Sisters have given me the opportunity to do much more useful and substantial acts of servitude. For many years, I worked their “dirty room,” where volunteers count buckets of surprisingly filthy donated dollars from Halloween partygoers in the Castro. The Sisters then granted that money to organizations in need. I have been sunburned guarding the gates at Folsom, and nonplussed providing security at Dore Alley. And some time ago, I helped to bring their website ( https://www.thesisters.org/ ) back from the dead.

So, let’s see ... I put in the time, did my service, heroic virtue, yadda yadda and my miracle has been verified. Oh hell, it turns out I am a Saint.

It is customary for the Sisters to award Sainthood with a characteristic “Saint name” that recognizes their unique contributions; let us just say mine gives a faux-Latin nod to my bawdy comedic nature.

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San Francisco Sisters at th

Anyway, the theme for this year’s Indulgence in Helluvalotta, Mystie Grey, the Park, “Love Your Mother,” is an homage to B. Hostel and Dana Van Iq the divine feminine in all of us, reflecting key valThe mai ues we hold as Sisters—honoring Mother Earth, our ancestors and where we’ve come from. We are also mag- sic, eye-p hallmark ically between 4/20 Day and Earth Day. tests. As Visitors to this year’s celebration will meet hundreds of Sis- ligious c ters from all over the world, all sporting their particular Or- mor. Lau der’s traditional wimple (headpiece), veil and habit (be it a or all thr robe or miniskirt or anything in between). There will also because be a very special surprise guest. Shhhhh! I can’t reveal the ing these without name. derful, d The event begins with full children’s programming (this is that hop our version of “traditional family values”) from 10–11:30am, Happy E including an Easter Egg Hunt, Sisters’ Story Time and free To read dental screenings. Adults can also receive free dental screen- Dana Se ings from noon to 2pm. https://w

By Karin Lee Jaffie

Many Sisters are now among my chosen family. The first relationships to blossom were with Sr Saki Tumi and Sr Penny Costal. Sr Penny has served as my de-facto Mom, introducing me to many of San Francisco’s LGBTQ service organizations of which I am now steward. Sr Penny has remained my spiritual guide throughout the many titles I have held in the Imperial Council and Ducal Council of SF, Golden State Gay Rodeo and Krewe de Kinque. She finds positive outlets for my mania, helping me to use my creative energy for good and not evil. If idle hands are the devil’s workshop, is that not the “Lord’s work”?

I was often drawn into madcap adventures with these nuns. Saki and Penny once dressed Sisters created a dramatic image on a windy day at Lands End. (1980s) me in femme drag, drove me to the Mission, then kicked me out of the car in front of the drag bar Esta (To be fair, the Order kind of owed me: I had to leave very Noche (RIP) and drove off. Imagine my shock upon discov- early the morning after Lori and I first *ahem* consummatering I had just been “entered” as the 2nd contestant in San ed our love. I was booked with the Sisters to lay out part of Francisco’s very first Faux Queen pageant. I did not win, the AIDS Quilt at the SF Giants’ “Until There’s a Cure” day at Candlestick Park (RIP) in 1995.) but I met Sr Dana Van Iquity that night, and still love my “Gramma Dana” to this day.

My current work with the Sisters is less on the streets and more in the sheets—spreadsheets that is. For the last few Another Sister has performed all three marriages to my wife years I have been helping to recruit and manage the enterfor life, Lori Howes (aka St Candyass). Sr Phyllis Stein the tainment for both of their annual fundraiser galas: Project Fragrant has married us with the same ceremonial words Nunway, and Easter in the Park (where I also co-MC and three times: 1999 in Watsonville (full deal, parents and all); stage manage). our 2002 Vermont civil union at the Von Trapp Family Lodge; and most recently, our entirely legal marriage in 2016 It truly will be miraculous to be back home in Dolores Park on Bernal Hill. for Easter this year, gathered together with Sisters, Saints

San Franc Park on Ea PHOTO BY JP CARHAIX

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will mark our 40th (RUBY) anniversary this year at our annual Easter Sunday party in Dolores Park. We are returning to one of our original, beloved spots, central to the Castro and not as difficult to get to as the past ones in Golden Gate Park. The free fabulous festivities are on April 21, from 10am to 4pm. Visitors are heartily encouraged to dress for the occasion if so desired, and bring a picnic on the lawn. This is a “green” event, so be sure to pick up your trash and leave no trace.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SFAHF

By Sister Dana Van Iquity of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

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and fam hope to s

Karin Ja dell’Fart Mr. Gay Bay Tim

PHOTO COURTESY OF SISTER TILDA NEXTIME

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y Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Saints & Angels

By Karin Lee Jaffie

Over the years, the Sisters have named as saints hundreds of people who have helped on various projects behind the scenes organizing, coordinating actions or projects, performing at events as an artist or emcee, or even serving the greater LGBT community. Rarely, but sometimes, they canonize community heroes who have recently died. It is customary for the Sisters to award sainthood with the addition of an elaborate “saint name.” The Sisters also award the title of “angels” to those non-members who make contributions to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in some way. Notable Saints include: • San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk - Saint Harvey Milk • Dan Nicoletta - Saint Out of the Closet & Into the Darkroom Purveyor of Flashbacks and F-Stops • Gilbert Baker - Saint Amora Betsy Ross of All the Glittering Rainbows in the Sky • Governor Gavin Newsom - Saint Marry Mayor of San Francisco

he 1995 HallowQueen event, including Sisters Embellisha Phatima La Dyke Van Dyk, Penny Costal, Zsa Zsa Glamour, Mae quity along with Pope Dementia The Last

in stage adult show will begin at noon, with live mupopping performances, sharp-tongued hosts and our k Easter Bonnet, Foxy Mary and Hunky Jesus conI remind any would-be overly traditional values recritics: I like to think that my Lord has a sense of huughter is godliness. Anyone who wants to enter one ree contests is encouraged to do so, but be forewarned Sister Roma and I will be interviewing and judge folks. All with a sense of humor, of course! Because humor, The Sisters would have no place in this wondiverse, (sometimes perverse) community. Oh, who’s pping down the Bunny Trail? Why, it’s the Sisters!

Easter, one and all!!!

more about Sister Dana Van Iquity, see “Sister ez” on page 27 and this Q&A from the Sisters: www.thesisters.org/dana

• Carole Migden - Saint Marry Carole • Tom Ammiano - Saint Tom Ammiano • Robin Williams - Saint Robin Williams

These Sisters have passed through the veil and joined the Nuns of the Above. A tip of the wimple to each and every one of them for being trailblazers and inspiration for the work that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence does today. We are comforted knowing that they are sprinkling glitter blessings on the Sisters and the entire LGBTQ community whenever they get the chance.

Reverend Mother Abbess

Sister Lost and Found

Sister Atta Van Haldol

Sister Mae B. Hostel

Sister Barbi Mitzvah Sister Bi-Polar Dysfunction Sister Boom Boom aka Sister Rose of the Bloody Stains of the Sacred Robes of Jesus

• Margaret Cho - Saint Margaret Cho, Our Lady of Love

Sister Mysteria of the Holy Order of the Broken Hymen Sister Olive O’Sudden

Sister Chanel 2001 aka Gilbert Baker

Sister Rosanna Hosanna Fella-Bella

Sister DiManda Tencion

Sister Saddie Saddie Rabbi Lady

Father Flick Sister Florence Nightmare, RN

• Stormy Daniels - Saint Tempestuous, Eye of the Hurricane of Truth and Stormer of the Barricades of Intolerance

Sister Fleur of the FlipTop Box

• Midori - Saint Wild Side Artiste of the Ties that Bind

Sister Homocycle Motor Sexual

• Empress XXIV Pat Montclaire - Saint Pat

Sister Marquesa de Sade

Sister Psychedlia

• Rosie O’Donnell - Saint Cutie Patootie

• Lenny Broberg - Saint of the Pepper Spritz Lily

Sister Marie Ever-Ready

Sister Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

Father Fellatio

• Lily Tomlin - Saint Signs of Intelligent Life

Sister Luscious Lashes

Sister Honey, Be!

Sister Quaalude Conduct

Sister Salvation Armee Sister Sensible Shoes aka Sister Loretta Timothy Sister Sermonetta of the Flying Phalus Reverend Mother Shapiro Sister Sindy Vine Sister Sleaze du Jour

• Cookie Dough - Saint Cookie Dough: San Francisco’s Golden Girl + Mother of Monsters

Pope Impious the First de San Francisco

• Alex U Inn - Saint Alex, Protector of the Kingdom, Defender of Identity for Momma’s Boyz, Daddy’s Girlz and Everyone in Between

Sister Irma Gration

Sister Sushi aka Sister Psychedelia

Sister Juanita La Bufadora

Sister Unity Harmony Sister Vice n Virtue

• BeBe Sweetbriar - Saint BeBe, the Black Barbie Songstress with a Heart of Gold

Sister Krishna Kosher

Sister Xtasy-MarieColette

• Cockatelia - Santa Cockatelia de la Piazza Linguini Numero Nove

Sister Lily Pads

Sister Kumonowanalaya

• Heklina - Saint Brownie Star, Tranny Queen of the Shack Tribe

PHOTO BY JERE

• Peaches Christ - Saint Fierce Femme Fatale, Mistress of the Most Holy Mass

cisco Sisters hosted the annual Hunky Jesus contest in Dolores aster Sunday 2007.

Orders Worldwide

mily from near and far, ministering to the masses. We see you there!

​ lthough the San Francisco House is often reA ferred to as the “Mother House,” the Sisters have no central seat of power and no single ruling body. Each House is an autonomous, unique group with its own habits (in every meaning of the word), culture and rules. Just as the San Francisco House is a reflection of the culture that surrounds it, so too is each House a reflection of its own environment.

Countries outside of the U.S. with Orders include Canada, Australia, Colombia, France, Germany, Scotland, Switzerland, the U.K. and Uruguay.

PHOTO BY VASSIL

PHOTO BY RINK

Soon after the San Francisco Order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence was founded in 1979, the mission of the Sisters spread far and wide. Houses can be found across the U.S. and in several countries around the world.

stah, Dana Van Iquity and Kitty Catalyst O.C.P. at the Names uilt office working on the Sisters’ Nuns of the Above quilt panel.

affie, aka Kit/Kitty Tapata, is Saint Commedia te of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and was y San Francisco 2012. Jaffie is also a “San Francisco mes” columnist—see “Queer Pop Quiz” on page 22.

• Mark Leno - Saint Mark My Words

Nuns of the Above

With Notre Dame Cathedral in the distance, Sisters in Paris protested in December, 2012, seeking marriage equality for all.

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The next day, Disco Coalition returned to The Lookout, this week recognizing Queero Alok Vaid-Menon, gender non-conforming performance artist, writer and educator. Remember, this event happens every Friday for 13 weeks, hosted by different local luminaries, honoring various Queeros and raising money for a different cause each week. 100% of bar proceeds from 5–8pm, matched by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, goes to that cause! Every week, Lookout has been packed and the overlapping of a variety of different groups within the larger community has been surprising and refreshing. This Friday, look for high profile hostess Sister Roma, listen to music from Adam Kraft and know that you and your friends are supporting the many activities of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

Saturday morning, we were up bright and early to help set up a welcome booth for the SF International Film Festival goers in front of the HRC Store on Castro, where volunteers from the Rainbow Honor Walk provided information about this project and offered free pours of Spike’s coffee with the purchase of RHW mugs. Thank you, Michael Micael and Bill Lipsky for hours of hospitality at the booth and the entire staff at HRC for their assistance. With sunny weather above and happy visitors and smiling locals stopping by to chat, this was the Castro we have come to love! Truly one of the best Castro forays yet for our little pooch Peanut! The SF International Film Festival always draws crowds of film lovers to the Castro and with the sneak preview of Netflix’s adaptation of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City on opening night, this looked like a record-breaking festival week.

Later in the afternoon, we popped into Beaux briefly for the Imperial Court fundraiser there, featuring a wide-ranging display of talent, a tantalizing peek at what the next day’s Investiture would hold. But with no time to waste, we dashed home for a quick change from Castro casual to gala finery for the SF LGBT Community Center’s annual Soiree at Terra Gallery. We shared a family-style dinner with table-mates Chris Carnes, Mark Leno, Nick Jimenez, Chris Edwards, Frank Woo and others as a tightly organized and inspirational program unfolded on stage. Hostesses Juanita More! and Countess Katya Smirnoff-Skyy laid to rest any concerns that we had about being over-dressed, guiding us through a lively auction and introducing the speakers. Executive Director Rebecca Rolfe outlined a dynamic response to negative news and unenlightened leadership in a speech that confirmed her clear grasp of the ongoing challenges of our community and the incredible ways that the Center responds. The statistics she shared dynamically demonstrated the success of this community asset and its very genuine role in changing lives. Well-deserved awards and other recognitions aside, the high point of the program was a heartfelt testimonial delivered by Jamie Wiles recounting a life of seemingly impossible obstacles, yet heroic resolve, and ultimately life-changing outreach and services provided by The Center. That speech left the room in tears and then uproarious applause. Then it was time for revelry and celebration as the crowd moved from the dining area to the downstairs party room to join additional guests for entertainment, curated by Juanita, and dance music from DJ LadyRyan. Performances by Dulce deLeche and Mr. David brought the house down. Somewhere during the evening, we chatted with Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, Gregory Marks, Marla Jurosek, Russell Roybal, Derek Barnes, Okan Sengun, Deb Stallings, Roberto Ordenana and too many others to name, all stalwart supporters of The Center.

And on Sunday, after a fun-filled Sunday’s a Drag at The Starlight Room with Holotta Tymes, Lady Tia and Mahlae Balenciaga, we simply had to pop into 440 Castro for Joe Mac’s annual Bonnet Sale. This loveable character pours every ounce of his quirky sense of humor, love of San Francisco and gregarious personality into creating outlandish Easter bonnets that are passionately snapped up by friends and casual shoppers. We did not leave empty-handed! On Easter Sunday in Dolores Park, pan the crowd and when you see a white dome on two stately columns swathed in red fabric bobbing in the distance, it may be this humble columnist. Leah Garchik will be green with envy!

–Lady Gaga

Calendar a/la Sachet Every Sunday Sunday’s a Drag!

10:30 am Brunch, 11:30 am Show The Starlight Room Sir Francis Drake Hotel $75 inclusive https://bit.ly/2OB4Gur Sunday, April 21 Easter in the Park: The Sisters’ 40th Anniversary Noon–5pm Dolores Park Celebrate Easter like no one else!

FREE https://www.thesisters.org/ Saturday, April 27 SFGMC’s Crescendo Gala 5pm Fairmont Hotel Kristin Chenoweth and Adam Rippon! $250 & up https://www.sfgmc.org/

PHOTO BY J.P. LOR

ne weekend, we find ourselves immersed in at-home projects, e.g. paring down the wardrobe, rehearsing new songs, reviewing personal finances, etc.; the next weekend, we are swept up in a plethora of events across the City, e.g. those about which you are about to read in this column. Such is life in San Francisco! And so, this past weekend started on Thursday with a brief, but spirited, Bon Voyage at Midnight Sun for Khmera Rouge & Travis Wise, departing the next day on their first cruise. With stops in Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai and throughout Japan, and with theme nights, top entertainment and idyllic days aboard Atlantis Cruises’ Norwegian Jewel, these two are sure to create memories of a lifetime and to gather salacious stories to share with us when they return. Joining in this send-off were Gary Virginia, Tyler Nelson, Kevin Lisle, CoCo Butter, Patty McGroin and others, generously served by the sexy staff of Midnight Sun.

“Being Gay is like glitter; it never goes away.”

PHOTO BY RINK

O

Donna’s Chronicles

By Donna Sachet

Bobbee. This was the final night of a year of service for Imperial Crown Prince William Bulkley and Princess K, noted with stage presentations and touching acknowledgements. These two honored their titles while pushing them in new directions admirably. After distribution of court titles, specially requested entertainment and more, the evening ended with the announcement of our new Imperial Crown Prince Brent Marek and Imperial Crown Princess Electra Cute.

Expectations are high for a year of extraordinary activity as new leaders emerge and traditions are honored and evolve.

We ended our fast-paced weekend in the compaFinally, we must join with so ny of our loyal Emperor Brian Benamati at many in the Castro and throughImperial Investiture at Calle 11, where Their (Top) Donna with friends at the SF LGBT out the City in saluting Ernie Most Imperial Majesties Emperor Terrill Center’s Soirée at Terra Gallery on April 13. Asten, whose life recently ended, Grimes Munro and Empress Baby (Bottom) Donna with Kevin Lisle and Manny but whose memory will last long Shaques Munro formally vested their Ojeda at the Imperial Investiture held at into the future. We were unable Court of Marvel, History, Re-Connec- Calle-11 on April 14. to join the Sunday New Orleans tion, and Fun. The announced junstyle march through the Castro in gle theme brought out animal prints galore, his honor, but can’t think of a better way to celebrate a life well even on this Empress, creating a photogelived, a heart widely shared and a devoted ally to the LGBT nic assembly of courtiers and supportCommunity. ers. We were particularly pleased to see attendees from courts outside of San Donna Sachet is a celebrated performer, fundraiser, activFrancisco, as well as a strong Leath- ist and philanthropist who has dedicated over two decades er presence, led by Mr. SF Leather to the LGBTQ Community in San Francisco. Contact her Jawn Marques and Ms. SF Leather at empsachet@gmail.com PHOTO BY SHAWN NORTHCUTT

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A Knee-Friendly Way to Get Up and Down from the ground safely and help you to get up and down from a chair without using your arms. I suggest that you stand up right now and give this a try. (You can see a video of this if you search YouTube “lower back relief with Cinder Ernst.”)

Easy Fitness Cinder Ernst Summer is coming ... even to San Francisco. You might want to relax on the grass at Dolores Park or sit on the beach. Maybe you’d like to take a yoga class, but you’re worried about your current state of fitness. Many people tell me, for example, that their sore knees make it hard for them to get up from the f loor or ground. In this column, I’m going to offer a kneefriendly way to do so.

This method is named the Modified Bear Crawl System or MBCS. You’ll discover a step by step way to get down and back up. I’ll also give you small steps that will help you to be able to implement the MBCS if it’s too much right now. At a certain point in the implementation, you will be bent over with your butt in the air! A sarong works beautifully if you’re in a bathing suit.

The steps in the MBCS are: • Football huddler • Hands to floor one at a time • Modif ied bear crawl to hand plank • Lower yourself • Flip to sitting • Reverse The football huddler is a position that will set you up for the MBCS. Before I explain how to do it you should know that this gem of a position will relieve back pain while you’re walking, enable you to pick up something

We named this move the football huddler because, well, football players do it when they’re in a huddle. Stand with your feet a bit further apart than hip width. Once you get the hang of the football huddler, you do these next four steps pretty much at the same time: stick your butt out slightly, lean forward a bit, put your hands on your thighs and bend your knees slightly. If it feels friendly, you can bounce a bit right here.

quires some strength, so you might want to get stronger by walking your hands out and back a few times and then standing up. You also need your ankles and feet to be flexible to protect your knees; the top of your foot will come down first. When you are strong enough, you will lower yourself to the ground.

Once you’re in the football huddler stance, your back is supported, your knees are safe and you can move the whole position a bit lower towards the ground. Now try resting your forearms or elbows on your thighs for a low football huddler. From this position you can pick something up from the floor. You can do alternate hand taps. Or you can proceed to the next step.

Flip to sit. You can lower to one butt cheek and find yourself sitting.

Hands to the f loor one at a time is just what it sounds like. From the low football huddler, suck in your stomach (what we call an abdominal scoop). Next, put one hand on the ground and then the other. If you are feeling uncertain, you can practice just this piece for a few days until you feel comfortable and then proceed to the next step.

Work on MBCS one step at a time.

Wall, counter and coffee table planks will all help you to get strong enough to do this. Ankle pumps will help your feet to have f lexibility. Go slow and steady.

Modif ied bear crawl to hand plank refers to “walking” your hands forward on the ground. Your feet stay where they are, but you will lift your heels. As you walk your hands forward, your body flattens out. Now you can begin to lower your front body to the ground from the bottom up.

Lower yourself. This portion re-

Take Me Home with You!

Maya

Reverse. When you’re getting back up, start on your belly and toes. Then scoop your abs and push yourself up and back with your arms. Bend your knees as you walk your hands back towards your thighs and the football huddler. Then push off your thighs and stand up.

Cinder Ernst, Medical Exercise Specialist and Life Coach Extraordinaire, helps reluctant exercisers get moving with safe, effective and fun programs.

Her book, “Easy Fitness for the Reluctant Exerciser” ( http:// cinderernst.com/easy-fitness-book/ ), is available in paperback and E-book. She specializes in fitness and rehab for plus-size clients, but her stress-free approach is suitable for all. Find out more at http://cinderernst.com

Fitness SF Trainer Tip of the Month Julio Boj, Jr. - Fitness SF Marin “My new favorite piece of equipment is the Onnit Steel Mace. With the 5, 10 or 15-pound weight loaded on one side of the mace, your body must put in extra work to maintain balance. Even with the simplest of moves, you start sweating early on!”

“My name is Maya! I’m a bundle of energ y and enthusiasm—I love life, and it shows! I’m looking for an adopter who enjoys being active, spending time outdoors and playing fetch. After a long day of romping around, all I want to do is to snuggle up on the couch with someone special. If that sounds good to you, come and introduce yourself!”

Maya is presented to San Francisco Bay Times readers by Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, the SF SPCA’s Co-President. Our thanks also go to Krista Maloney for helping to get the word out about lovable pets like Maya.

To meet Maya, as well as other pets seeking their forever homes, please visit: San Francisco SPCA Mission Campus 250 Florida Street San Francisco, CA 94103 415-522-3500 Aside from major holidays, the Mission Campus adoption Dr. Jennifer Scarlett and Pup center is open Mon–Fri: 1–6 pm and Sat–Sun: 10 am–5 pm. Free parking is available for those wishing to adopt!

For more information: https://www.sfspca.org/adoptions 20

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Tore Kelly, Director of Creative & Social Media for Fitness SF, provides monthly tips that he has learned from professional trainers. For more information: https://fitnesssf.com/

David Woemmel’s Journey to the Healing Power of Music and Sports mostly in basketball and tennis, Dave didn’t really know how to play softball, so this was an exciting opportunity to learn a new sport, just like learning to live in a new city.

Sports John Chen Dave Woemmel was so excited to move to San Francisco with his partner eight years ago, eager to build a new life together in an historic LGBT city. But for the first six months, the excitement quickly dissipated. Dave felt isolated, segregated and unable to connect with the people and the community. Then he found and played gay softball and life suddenly became exciting and worthwhile again. Now Dave wants to share his story through songs, performing for everyone solo because, well, he is after all a diva.

A cor n -fed M id west boy, Dave was a Dave strapping young lad Woemmel full of promise excelling in sports, academics and choir.

Armed with great confidence and optimism, Dave carved a successful career path in Chicago after graduating from Kansas State University. Not too long a f ter, cupid’s a rrow hit the bullseye and Dave was lovestruck. Leaving everything he knew and built behind, Dave followed his heart to iconic San Francisco, where the promise of a new and even more exciting life awaited.

The idea of building a life together in the most significant LGBT city in the world was romantic and heart pounding. All of that promise waned quickly and Dave found himself confused, confounded and confined. Dave felt little connection to the romance that San Francisco offered. Maybe making such rash decision to move on a whim wasn’t the most logical choice, but he’s here.

In the midst of doubt and disappointment, Dave found gay softball (San Francisco Gay Softball League), and took a chance on joining a beginner team. Having played and competed

Immediately, his new softball family welcomed him and provided unconditional friendship and support. They learned the game together, played together, ate, drank and socialized together, participating in a myriad of events the league and San Francisco had to offer. And just like that, Dave felt at home—the home he had envisioned when moving out west.

Life in San Francisco seemed about right, and at the same time, wrong.

Dave’s relationship had eroded and left him with a couple of very difficult choices concerning leaving his partner and quitting his beloved softball team. Suddenly Dave found himself in a very dark place. Mired in selfdoubt and anger, life was not fair, especially losing all that he had worked so hard for.

Moving day to day aimlessly, Dave felt empty and not much mattered to him. His only social human contact was with a person with whom he

shared a crippling and goalless outlook on life. Somewhere down the road, this unsympathetic contact inexplicably bonded them. He helped them to see the mistakes that they were making and the destructive paths that they were taking. Their unlikeliest relationship and empathy grew from the depth of great adversity and hopelessness to one of love and understanding. Together, they faced their fears and inner demons, gradually conquering them.

On his way to recovery, Dave rekindled another one of his former passions: singing. Dave began belting out ballads of empowerment in his shower because it was a time when no one can hear or see his pain. In time, a chance meeting afforded Dave the opportunity to join the Oakland

Gay Men’s Chorus, where he quickly formed a strong mentor-student bond with the Chorus’ director at the time, Stephanie Lynne Smith.

She introduced Dave to her performance classes, and gave him the strength and courage to sing in front of audiences. Over the next several years, she not only helped Dave to grow as a performer—whether it be style, repertoire, technique or stage presence—but she also more importantly helped Dave to find himself and to grow into a healthier and happier person.

Today, Dave is once again excited because he has someone who completes him, and is busy preparing and rehearsing for his first solo performance called ‘Back to Life,” thanks to Miss Smith Presents hosted by Society Cabaret. In his performance, Dave tells his story through songs, some of which he wrote while focusing on the brightest and the darkest of days, his path to healing, and his readiness to tackle a new life and play sports once more.

Step into the story... and become art Portraiture, Fine Art, Event Photography 415.481.5185 www.exlightstudio.com

Like many of us, Dave Woemmel was a hopeless romantic. He followed his

heart to San Francisco only to have it broken. But through it all, Dave found his niche in softball and eventually peace through music. “Softball helped make San Francisco my home where I am finally happy,” he told me for the San Francisco Bay Times. “Now I want to share my journey through music with friends and family and whoever is willing to listen.”

Miss Smith Presents “David Woemmel - Back to Life” on May 4 at the Harvey Milk Center for the Arts in San Francisco. For more information and tickets, please go to https://bit.ly/2Ikr2AN John Chen, a UCLA alumnus and an avid sports fan, has competed as well as coached tennis, volleyball, softball and football teams.

© Randy Coleman, 2019

SF Sketch Randy Coleman “All of my life I’ve been an artist,” Coleman says. “To know me is to know that I have a passion for art and architecture. I love this project for the San Francisco Bay Times, and hope that you enjoy my sketches.”

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2019)

From the Coming Up Events Calendar See page 28 Monday, April 22 - Queer Bowling @ Mission Bowling Club, 3176 17th Street.

A bowling tourney for Larkin Street Youth Services is held every 4th Monday. 6-9pm. http://www.missonbowlingclub.com

Saturday, April 27 - Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar @ Cal Performances, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley. Artistic director of the Théâtre National de Bretagne, Arthur Nauzyciel highlights the continuing relevance of Shakespeare’s great political tragedy.

8 pm and 3pm on April 28. http://www.calperformances.org

Smuin Ballet Celebrates Silver Anniversary with Rousing Season Finale Smuin Contemporary Ballet concludes its quarter-century celebration with a tribute to founder Michael Smuin, presenting a selection of his vibrant, witty and exuberant works set to the music of George and Ira Gershwin, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole and others. The tribute will be a highlight of Dance Series 02 that will launch with shows at San Francisco’s YBCA Theater (April 26–May 5), then will tour to Walnut Creek (May 17–18), Mountain View (May 23–26) and Carmel (May 31–June 1).

The tribute, The Best of Smuin, will offer a cavalcade of Michael’s dazzling works dating back to the inaugural 1994 program Dances with Songs, as well as selections from Smuin’s much

lauded ballets Carmina Burana, Frankie and Johnny and others. It will be a fabulous showcase packed with Smuin’s signature razzle-dazzle, visually stunning effects and trademark twists. Altogether the program presents a heartfelt tribute to the company’s dynamic founder, who was a Tony and Emmy award-winning choreographer. His storied career ranged from classical ballet, Broadway, television, films and more.

Acclaimed choreographer Amy Seiwert returns to Smuin for this memorable occasion with a powerful World Premiere titled “Renaissance.” The strength and versatility of Smuin’s dancers, highlighted by Seiwert’s breathtaking choreography, beautiful-

Smuin dancer Erica Felsch with the men of the company in “Do It Again,” a number from Michael Smuin’s Dancin’ with Gershwin. Highlights from this delightful piece will be featured in The Best of Smuin showcase during Smuin’s Dance Series 02 touring the Bay Area April 26-June 1. Photo credit: Keith Sutter Smuin dancer Valerie Harmon in an excerpt from Michael Smuin’s Dancin’ with Gershwin. Highlights from this piece will be featured in “The Best of Smuin” showcase during Smuin’s Dance Series 02 touring the Bay Area April 26-June 1. Photo credit: Chris Hardy

ly complements the empowering a cappella soundtrack of Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble, the acclaimed Oaklandbased group that specializes in the techniques of traditional and contemporary Balkan, Slavic and Caucasian vocal styling.

In creating this work, Seiwert drew inspiration from the women’s protest in India on January 1, 2019. Millions of women joined hands to form a 385-mile “wall” in Kerala to create awareness of gender equality, and to protest a religious ban that prevented women of childbearing age from entering one of the country’s sacred Hindu temples.

Seiwert was mentored by Michael Smuin for eight of her nine years as a dancer at the company, becoming Smuin’s Choreographer in Residence upon her retirement from dancing in 2008, a position that she held until 2018. As a choreographer, she has pushed the boundaries of dance, collaborating with artists of other disciplines and experimenting with all of its various forms and expressions from a classical base—making her an invaluable voice in the Bay Area dance community. Now Artistic Director of Sac-

ramento Ballet, Seiwert returns to help Smuin celebrate this milestone anniversary with a stunning new piece featuring her signature choreography.

For 25 years, Smuin has expanded the boundaries of contemporary ballet, engaging and delighting audiences with uncommon physicality and expression. The company remains committed to creating work that merges the diverse vocabularies of classical ballet and contemporary dance. Artistic Director since 2007, Celia Fushille has maintained Michael Smuin’s legacy while enriching the Company’s impressive repertoire by collaborating with inventive choreographers from around the world, commissioning world premieres, and bringing new contemporary choreographic voices to the Smuin stage.

This festive anniversary season finale pays homage to the brilliant works of its founder, and the legacy he has created. More information and tickets for Smuin’s Dance Series 02 can be found online ( http://www.smuinballet.org/ ) or by calling 415-912-1899.

Smuin dancers Robert Kretz and Terez Dean Orr in an excerpt from Michael Smuin’s Dancin’ with Gershwin. Highlights from this piece will be featured in “The Best of Smuin” showcase during Smuin’s Dance Series 02 touring the Bay Area April 26-June 1. Photo credit: Chris Hardy

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BIG FISH The first openly gay person to be included in the Fortune 500 list was: A) Martine Rothblatt B) Neil Patrick Harris C) Peter Thiel D) Tim Cook ANSWER ON PAGE 26

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Karin Jaffie, aka Kit/Kitty Tapata, won the title of Mr. Gay San Francisco in 2011 and has earned many other honors since.

Connect with Jaffie via Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ktapata

Emily Dickinson and JT Leroy on Screen This Month thoughts of pain in a difficult moment. T here is enough of a sense of her work that literary enthusiasts will not feel slighted by a film where one of the cleverest jokes involves Emily and Susan wanting to hear the celebrated Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Film Gary M. Kramer Two films with queer characters and literary themes open in the Bay Area this month.

Wild Nights with Emily, opening April 19 at the Landmark Embarcadero, is out writer/director Madeleine Olnek’s comic look at the relationship between the poetess Emily Dickinson (Molly Shannon) and her lover and sister-in-law, Susan (Susan Ziegler) in 1860 Amherst. The film opens with the two women kissing courteously before embracing far more passionately. Olnek—adapting her play— has an agenda to debunk the myth that Dickinson was (as an end title card indicates), “a half-cracked, unloved recluse who was afraid to publish her work.”

Working from this revisionist approach, Olnek’s PG-13 f ilm is deliberately more mild than wild as it shows Dickinson’s love affairs. Wild Nights with Emily also emphasizes how her efforts to publish were stymied by men who did not understand the merits of her work. In one amusing scene, Col. Thomas Wentworth Higginson (Brent Gelman), a pretentious editor from The Atlantic, offers revisions to Emily’s poems—removing lines of text and dashes, much to her chagrin.

Another scene with a prospective publisher is met with awkward, noisy tea-slurping as a response. Dickinson wrote 18,000 poems, only 11 of which were published in her lifetime.

Olnek features Dickinson’s poetry throughout the film, putting text on screen as handwritten pages or in subtitles. The poetess’ words often reflect her emotions, as when she expresses

Wild Nights with Emily uses its witty, comic tone to make its points go down easily. When Susan looks out of her bedroom window at Emily across the way, she rebuffs her husband’s advances, in a wonderfully droll manner. The film’s storyline is also framed, in part, by a lecture Mabel Todd (Amy Seimetz)— who edited and published a volume of Dickinson’s poetry, after the writer’s death—gives to a women’s auxiliary club on her “friendship” with Emily Dickinson.

However, the two women never actually met. Emily was often secluded in her room when Mabel visited her home and played the piano. Moreover, Mabel was having an affair with Susan’s husband, Austin (Kevin Seal). Olnek’s (ir)reverence for Dickinson comes through as Shannon is often suppressing a smile, most notably during a scene of Emily handing Susan poems she has pulled out of her waist, locket and hair. The film is a funny, feminist and revisionist take on the noted poetess.

Opening April 26 at the Roxie is JT Leroy, the latest screen version of the astonishing literary hoax about JT ( Jeremiah Terminator) Leroy, the son of a truck stop prostitute, who wrote about his drug use, sexual abuse and gender identity in the books Sarah and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things.

While there have been two documentaries about the JT Leroy phenomenon—The Cult of JT Leroy (2014), directed by Marjorie Sturm, and Author: The JT Leroy Story (2016), directed by Jeff Feuerzeig—this new film, direct-

ed by out gay writer/director Justin Kelly (I Am Michael, King Cobra), is a feature film. It stars an outstanding Laura Dern as Laura Albert—the “author” of the JT Leroy books—and Kristen Stewart as her co-conspirator, Savannah Knoop, who posed as JT for various media appearances until their hoax was uncovered.

Kelly’s film is an adaptation he cowrote with Knoop of her memoir, Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT Leroy, and tells the story from Knoop’s perspective. In the film, Savannah (Stewart) arrives in San Francisco, and meets Albert (Dern), who soon convinces Knoop to pretend to be JT. Their deception works quite well, and they travel to L.A. for a party hosted by Sasha (Courtney Love) and to Paris, where they meet an actress, Eva (Diane Kruger), who wants to make a film adaptation of Leroy’s work (as actress Asia Argento did in real life).

Eva even has a physical relationship with JT, which gets complicated as JT Leroy shows.

The story is complicated too, but Kelly manages to keep things compelling and clear, even as Laura appears as Speedie, JT’s obnoxious British manager. Speedie often answers for JT in interviews or cuts a photo session short when their ruse may be revealed. Dern is able to move effortlessly back and forth between Laura’s various guises, which is what makes the film so entertaining, even for those who know the story. In contrast, Stewart is terrific as Savannah, who struggles palpably with her emotions at playing this role and lying to her romantic partners.

JT Leroy does not judge its characters; Kelly’s interest is in understanding why these women did what they did. Those who know and followed the story should find this version fascinating. © 2019 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.” Follow him on Twitter @ garymkramer

YOU TOO CAN BE A WINNER!

ds LaTonya Lawson and Frien

Lisbet h Tellefsen, Ericka Huggins and Cheryl Ward at Rock the CASA 2019

Subscribe to the San Francisco Bay Times e-mail list: https://bit.ly/2XDNnh7 Subscribers enter the REPLY TO WIN! online competition for a chance to win event tickets, services and products we announce.

Patr ik Gallineaux and Gary Virginia at Academy of Friends 2019

Ted Maylath, Joh n Chen, Clayton Lepak and Westo n Hartman at Beach Blanket Ba bylon

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A Place Where ‘Everybody Knows Your Name’: San Francisco’s Timeless Balboa Café

Photos courtesy of David Landis

The Gay Gourmet David Landis Don’t you often just want to hang out at a neighborhood restaurant and bar where, in the words of the hit TV series Cheers, “everybody knows your name”?

San Francisco’s version of that archetype is Cow Hollow’s 106-year-old Balboa Café, run by the esteemed PlumpJack Group. The institution embodies the diversity of San Francisco itself: if you’re straight, gay, young, old, millennial, techie, socialite, politician, single or with your family, rich, poor or just a plain old sports fan—you’re welcomed with open arms. Given that California’s current Governor Gavin Newsom has had a role in the Balboa’s longstanding history, it’s no surprise that I’ve seen the likes of the late Steve Jobs, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, financier Gordon Getty, Chief of Protocol Charlotte Shultz and many more of the City’s glitterati among its longstanding patrons.

The Balboa opened its doors in 1913 (even though the sign above the door says “1914,” albeit because of superstition). Early on, the Balboa was a working-man’s saloon with pool tables, a sawdust f loor and a carving station where bartenders sliced meat and made sandwiches for the patrons.

Over the years, Balboa has changed, but it still retains its historical integrity. The original bar and signage remain, as well as many traditional details, including historical photos lining the walls. In 1980, renowned chef Jeremiah Tower oversaw the kitchen for four years, before leaving to establish his iconic Stars Restaurant. Prior to Gavin Newsom’s PlumpJack Group taking over in 1994, Judge Bill Newsom, Gordon Getty and seasoned restaurateur Pat Kelley would meet at the Balboa to discuss the establishment’s potential. Ultimately, Kelley convinced Gavin to make a bid to buy the restaurant.

What keeps people coming back is that while the Balboa Café excels at American classics—like its famous burger (possibly the best in San Francisco and it’s only $16.50) or its tender and juicy lightly-breaded Chicken Paillard (a weekly Wednesday special, priced at $23 including an arugula salad)—the Balboa is constantly reinventing itself.

“We’re taking the classics and stepping it up a notch,” comments newish chef Goran Basarov, who in person wants to be called by his f irst name and acts more like your school chum than what he is: a talented, fine dining chef. “We’re elevating the cuisine, but at the Balboa, we want it to feel like home,” says Goran. “We’re not pretentious.”

It’s the classics that continue to pack them in at the Balboa. The aforementioned burger is a mainstay: (insider’s tip: it’s not on the menu, but you can order the burger on a soft round bun instead of the baguette). Accompaniments consist of house-made pickles and some of the best French 24

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fries in town (order them “extra crispy”). Another popular musthave dish is the homemade meatloaf on Mondays; and an additional favorite is the Balboa’s very hearty chicken pot pie ($23), which sports the flakiest of crusts.

At a recent lunch, we enjoyed a fresh ling cod f ish & chips (the special of the day on Fridays), impeccably light and nongreasy; a taco salad brimming with black beans, corn, avocado, tortilla strips and some added grilled, yet very moist, chicken ($15 for the regular salad, plus whatever protein you’d like); a fresh seared ahi tuna salad ($23.50) with root vegetables, hummus, spiced pepitas and herbed goat cheese (my companion who dislikes goat cheese even loved Goran’s lighter interpretation); and a garden-fresh grilled California artichoke with a tangy remoulade ($10.50).

Here’s another insider’s tip: the Balboa Café wants wine to be approachable. So, if you buy a bottle across the street at PlumpJack’s wine shop, there’s no corkage fee at the Balboa for the first bottle. How’s that for a deal?

If cocktails are your thing, I’d vote for the Ramos Gin Fizz, a classic that Balboa has made modern with bitters and just the right amount of cream.

For weekend brunch, the restaurant proudly serves more of their famous and tasty Bloody Marys than just about anywhere around town.

Cocktails run about $13. For an even craftier cocktail experience, you can visit PlumpJack’s new White Rabbit lounge ( https://bit.ly/2ZkcVAA ) across Fillmore Street. Designed as an homage to the hit of the 60s San Francisco band, Jefferson Airplane, the artisan venue features such drinks as “Aperol in Wonderland” and “Rummy Bunny.”

Balboa Café isn’t just kid-friendly; it’s dog-friendly. We’ve dined with our SPCA pups Gaston and Alphonse numerous times outside and the atmosphere is as convivial al fresco as inside. And the wait staff gladly bring water in dog bowls for thirsty canines.

Balboa is so old school that they don’t take reservations for parties of less than 6 people. But if you can’t get a seat right away, cozy up to the century-old bar with veteran bartenders Kevin and Alejandro. They’ll make you feel a part of the gang straightaway and within a short time, they’ll even know your name.

Although the Balboa Café has been voted a “legacy business” by the City of San Francisco, it’s not standing on its laurels. In fact, stay tuned in late April/early May for a new menu to

debut, with what Chef Goran promises might include a few surprises— maybe even from his native Macedonia. “We draw inspiration from the Mediterranean,” explains Chef Goran. “We’re the good old Balboa, but we’re making it even more flavorful.”

Balboa Café is located at 3199 Fillmore Street (at the corner of Greenwich). Reservations only for 6 people or more. For info, visit: www.balboacafesf.com David Landis, aka “The Gay Gourmet,” is a foodie, a freelance writer and a PR executive. Follow him: @david_landis, email him at: david@landispr.com or visit online at: www.gaygourmetsf.com

A Peek Behind the Gay Curtain

Photos courtesy of Dr. Tim Seelig Girls and “Every Sperm is Sacred.” Woo hoo!

BTQ choral groups that did a large amount of “classical” music. They had a pretty spectacular reputation among musicians. I felt good about the interview.

“Dr. Seelig, I have enjoyed your recordings and am so thrilled you are moving here. Please tell me you won’t be dipping into the stereotypical flamboyant theatrics and sappy sentimentality of most gay choruses.”

TLC: Tears, Laughs and Conversation Dr. Tim Seelig It was November, 2010. I had just accepted the offer from the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus to become the Artistic Director in January, 2011. I was doing all of the things you do when you accept a job in San Francisco and have to move from Dallas, Texas. I needed to find new housing, surprisingly one fourth the size of the one I was leaving in Big D. It was a lot.

I got a phone call from a music critic at the San Francisco Chronicle. It was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. The gay men’s chorus I conducted in Dallas for 20 years had a reputation for being one of the LG-

My answer. “No sir, I won’t be dipping in the shallow end with a just a toe, I’ll be jumping in the deep end—fully immersing the singers and audience in all of it. That’s what you can expect during my tenure.”

He just couldn’t let it go. “I thought you would be different. Why is that your plan?”

“Here is why,” I said. “Many, if not most, gay men were told the following while growing up, in the hopes they could pass and not embarrass the family: Don’t be f lamboyant.

Don’t be too sentimental. ‘Boys Don’t Cry!’ I believe being free to be exactly who you are—when you get to the stage—is completely liberating.”

That is what we have done. This last concert alone, we sang Handel, Spice

Dear one, I have been in your shoes often over the decades.

There have been many times when we have performed music that has touched the deepest part of singers and audience alike.

There have been times when singers have felt that, as a moth to a flame, we were in danger of getting too close and would be singed or even burned up.

Some singers join with the “Girls just wanna have fun” mentality. They soon find out that what we do is so much more important than that. Some are simply not interested in sharing in the wide gamut of emotions and the vulnerability it requires. Dropping out because one topic or the other is too close, too difficult emotionally, is the exact reason to stay!

Leaving only serves to deny yourself of the opportunity to heal. The chorus will be fine. It is you who suffers the most when you leave.

While this is an individual decision, allow me to give you some of my recent experiences.

The first was in the world premiere of “Testimony,” composed for us by the incredible Stephen Schwartz based on letters sent to Dan Savage for the It Gets Better Project. The piece is about suicide. It is incredibly difficult and dark. Every rehearsal was filled with tears.

This was followed by another world premiere based on the story of Tyler Clementi, who jumped from the George Washington Bridge at 19 because of cyber-bullying by his roommate in his freshman year as a music major at Rutgers. The entire process, from creation to performance—introduced by his mother and brother—was gut wrenching. Many of our singers have at one point considered suicide at some level.

For “Tyler’s Suite,” walking this path, singing these words and notes, became intensely personal and difficult. We brought in a specialist in depression and suicide to speak to the chorus. They had a choice: either sit out the concert and allow those deep wounds to stay unhealed, or continue to sing those songs surrounded by their brothers, and allow the music and the experience to reach deep within and help them begin to heal in a way no other experience could. I can absolutely guarantee that not one person who decided to stick with us was sorry for their decision in any way. Every single one of them grew and healed. Music is therapy, as we know.

I know from my own experience, conducting a Requiem for SFGMC’s 40th Anniversary concert only 9 days after my daughter Corianna died, that digging in the midst of unspeakable pain ... singing words that were far too close and painful and raw (“waiting for the calls that never came”) made my process better. While not easier, it was deeply meaningful. I was so close to the flame. The singers and the audience felt my pain, and rather than taking away from the experience, the closeness deepened it for all of us. I could have stepped aside be-

Selecting repertoire and content for SFGMC is not an easy task. No one wants to just sing show tunes. OK, a few. But one of the most important things we do, when up to 300 singers gather, is to sing about everything possible, including music based on very difficult topics that the singers themselves are still going through. We’ve moved on from just singing “I’m Coming Out.” We do this quite naturally, because it is in our mission. It is often not easy for the singers or the audience.

But it is necessary.

Recently, a conductor colleague from another gay men’s chorus across the country reached out to ask how we have handled difficult repertoire— music that just feels too close for comfort and is emotionally too close to reality. His singers were dropping out.

I wrote the following letter:

cause it was too painful for me. I didn’t do that. I am so grateful I did not.

Two years ago, we performed the world premiere of James Eakin’s “Paradise Found.” It was a huge piece that was an allegory for addiction as the character in the piece attempted beyond hope to rise out of the despair and hopelessness (“a hell of my own making”). Again, many in our membership were deeply affected by addiction. The same thing happened. Rather than push them away, it became a lifeline for them, and encouragement, a touch point. None would have looked back and wished they had not performed. Many sponsors of the guys in the chorus encouraged every one of them to stay in, to not allow their fear of what might happen make them run and miss the opportunity to overcome!

That was my letter. That’s what you will experience every time you come hear the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Get ready. It’s going to be a fabulous ride, touching every single part of your being—with music. We call it TLC. Yes, Tender Loving Care. But more than that, Tear. Laugh, Chill Bump. Bring both a Kleenex for your tears and a belly for your laughter.

You’ll definitely get a chill bump or two.

Dr. Tim Seelig is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. http://www.sfgmc.org

To isolate this experience to just the above topics is to gloss over reality. As I said, when we come to a gay chorus, we all bring different baggage. For some, singing “Amazing Grace” is too difficult because of the pain of reliving what organized religions has done to them/us. I am in that group, as you know. I have had more singers drop out because the religious content was too close and too hard for them, than ever dropped out for the other reasons stated. For some, they can’t sing about a Father at Christmas because of a damaged relationship.

There is absolutely some truth in the fact that we, as a people, wear our feelings right out in the open.

When all is said and done, we are called to sing about our experience—all of it. It’s why I have always believed we should show every aspect of our fabulous and complex gay life: flamboyant, sensitive and sometimes a little dysfunctional—we should bring all of this to the stage! We are also called to sing about our difficulties in every respect.

We are called to this because it is real and because we strive, above all, to be authentic where once we were not. Mostly, we are called to this because we will refuse to be afraid to be ourselves. We will not be told who we can and can’t be, in any way.

If my deepest hurt can help someone in the audience, my hurt becomes diminished because some of it left me and crossed over to lift someone up.

That is the greatest gift of all. It’s a miracle, really.

Tell your singers that the flame will not consume the moth—because there are loving arms surrounding you—and some you cannot see. They are there, ready to comfort and help you fly to safety should that be necessary. The fire will refine. With each “getting close,” you learn. Go ahead and get close. Feel the refining warmth. Say “thank you” and fly with your brothers to safety, knowing that you will soon return to the warmth of the fire.

Be brave. Be bold. March into the frickin’ fire and SING!

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TING (continued from page 5)

GAFFNEY & LEWIS (continued from page 8)

“walk-on” to a team, without knowing how to play the sport. Having more than one sign-off for special admissions will ensure they only apply to those students truly bringing their unique talents to the school.

Kozumi also stressed that “progress in Japan has been too slow.”

Another proposal seeks to increase checks and balances by requiring college admissions consultants to register with the state. More robust oversight of the industry could have prevented William “Rick” Singer’s California-based company from gaming the admissions process.

Other measures would audit the risk of admissions fraud at California colleges and urge them to phase out use of standardized tests, as wealthier students with the means to be better prepared score, on average, 400 points higher than low-income students on the SAT. In a hearing last month, I called on the schools implicated in the scandal to rescind degrees or to expel students who fraudulently gained admissions. Everyone should have an equal opportunity to succeed.

While our legislative proposals won’t completely stop unfair practices in the college admissions process, we must do our part to increase equity and curb abuses.

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the Westside of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma and Daly City.

Japanese LGBTIQ activists have been using the facts that the world’s eyes will turn to Japan during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and that Japan is the only member of the G7 without marriage equality or civil unions to pressure for faster change. Two years ago, grassroots activist Kanako Otsuji became the first openly LGBTIQ elected member of the Diet ( Japanese Congress). The LGBTIQ community has made much progress in Japanese businesses. Eleven locales, including major cities such as Osaka, Sapporo and parts of Tokyo, issue same-sex partnership certificates of largely symbolic value.

Plaintiffs in their lawsuit rely on sweeping human rights guarantees in the Japanese Constitution, drafted in 1946 during American occupation and, in part, by a Western feminist who had lived in Japan. The Japanese Constitution declares: “All of the people are equal under the law and there shall be no discrimination ... because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin.” Further: “All of the people shall be respected as individuals. Their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness shall ... be the supreme consideration in legislation and in other governmental affairs.”

The pivotal issue in the lawsuit will be how these guarantees shape present-day interpretation of the Constitution’s marriage provisions, enacted in 1946 to give women equality, autonomy and dignity in marriage for the first time.

In particular, one provision ensures: “Marriage shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be maintained through mutual cooperation with the equal rights of husband and wife as a basis.”

GGBA MIKE MILAN (continued from page 7) When this women’s rights breakthrough was drafted in 1946, no one was thinking about same-sex marriage. Neither this provision nor any other provision of Japanese law explicitly bans same-sex marriage. But no government entity has ever issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and the government has maintained that the Constitution prohibits it. Interestingly, the 1946 Japanese Constitution contains words in another marriage provision that seem almost prophetic today: “With regard to choice of spouse ... laws shall be enacted from the standpoint of individual dignity and the essential equality of the sexes.”

Support for marriage equality is growing in Japan with recent polling showing 70 percent of people in their 20s and 30s in favor. However, the road ahead for same-sex couples in the lawsuit is formidable. For example, Human Rights Watch reports that the Japanese Supreme Court has struck down only 10 laws as unconstitutional in over 70 years. It recently upheld an outdated and medically debunked law regarding transgender people.

We bow to the same-sex couples who are bringing this lawsuit and to all of the Japanese LGBTIQ people and their supporters who are taking the risk to be posts that stick out despite the fear of being pounded down.

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.

ROSTOW (continued from page 9) and the National Immigration Justice Center have filed suit to have her freed.

Promo Homo So, there’s a hodgepodge of important GLBT developments for our news mill, but I’m more in the mood for whimsical f lights of fancy. And yet, duty calls.

Massachusetts has banned conversion therapy, becoming the 16th state to outlaw the torturous practice. Actually, that reminds me that the Supreme Court did take some action of note last week, deciding not to review a Third Circuit ruling that upheld New Jersey’s ban on conversion therapy.

This was not unexpected, considering that they had already rejected this case once before, and frankly, I’m not quite sure why it resurfaced to begin with. Let’s draw a veil over the whole thing, shall we?

Speaking of conversion, the other day we rewatched a clip from a November 2017 Mass Resistance conference, an antigay confab that kicked off their program with an interpretative dance

by one Derek Paul, who swooned and swayed with what looked like rainbow flags to a song that included the lyrics “love keeps no records of wrong,” (apparently part of a Bible verse). I heartily recommend that you google this for a few minutes of pure entertainment from a man who apparently is himself a product of conversion therapy. Or at least he has been redirected from a walk on the wild side to marriage and fatherhood as well as colorful stage performances.

Over in Arizona, the legislature has repealed a 1991 law, which mandated that public school health educators should cover HIV/AIDS topics without saying anything positive about homosexuality. So that’s gone, although six other states still enforce some kind of no-promo-homo laws.

Hat tips to Lambda and the National Center for Lesbian Rights for filing the lawsuit that triggered this action.

And a gay male couple in upstate New York has picked up $25,000 in damages plus an apology from a clerk who refused to give them a marriage license, suggesting instead that they

KIT’N KITTY’S

QUEER POP QUIZ ANSWER (Question on page 22)

D) Tim Cook Tim Cook has been at the helm of the technology giant, Apple, Inc., since 2011. Cook publicly came out as gay in 2014, although he had always been open about his sexuality in his personal life. According to Forbes, Cook’s financial haul last year totaled $136 million (bonus, salary and shares from a 10year stock award), plus about $682,000 worth of perks.

“make an appointment,” presumably with a non-Christian bureaucrat. Good for them, but this comes at a time when state after state is trying to enact laws that would “protect” religiously bigoted officeholders, along with antigay business people and who knows who else.

Modern Family I also have what purports to be a gay bird story involving two male eagles and a female in Illinois who have successfully raised three chicks, including a recent hatchling. But unlike the devoted penguins and monogamous swan couples of previous columns, there’s no evidence that these birds have anything going on other than an unusual parenting arrangement. Why would people jump to the conclusion that the male eagles are gay?

According to press reports, the female has mated with both males, so there’s that. On the other hand, the males used to have a different female partner who died, so it seems they stuck together before discovering this new female.

I’m thinking Netf lix Original six-part series. Maybe done as a flashback from one of the chick’s perspectives after they’re grown? Maybe there’s a chick from the original family who is now a surly adolescent. The situation is rife with possibilities.

And finally, apropos of nothing, did you see Trump’s recommendation to the marketing staff at Boeing?

“If I were Boeing,” he tweeted, “I would FIX the Boeing 737 MAX, add some additional great features, & REBRAND the plane with a new name. No product has suffered like this one. But again, what the hell do I know?” (Italics mine.)

Additional great features? Like what? Hot showers in the foredeck? Talking tray tables? A safety device that prevents the autopilot from sending the plane into a nosedive? And who exactly is going to be fooled by a rebranded name? American Airlines? Delta? KLM? I can see the executives at the budget meeting.

“No Marsha, I’m not talking about the 737 MAX. I’m suggesting we upgrade the f leet with that new plane.

The one with the talking tray tables.”

“Oh. You mean the Super Duper Xtreme Flyer? It’s the same plane with different tray tables.”

“But it also has a different name.”

“Oh, Okay.” arostow@aol.com

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Your quantity on hand should match your base level (or par) at the beginning of an order cycle.

• Expense control: There is a hard and fast rule here.

The change in operating expense should mirror the change in gross profit. If gross profit is reduced by $10k, then you should also reduce your operating expense by $10k. Simply put, when you have less money, you should spend less money.

• Mis-financing: Almost none of us check for this on a regular basis, but we should. This is where you have purchased a long-term asset, with a short-term product. It’s like buying a house with a credit card. You wouldn’t do this even if you could, unless you wanted the miles! No, you wouldn’t do this because the cost of borrowing is too high, and it would increase your interest expense. The length of the loan should match the life of the asset.

• Match budget to cash: It is important for you to visualize how cash moves through your company in order not just to make money, but also to have it in your bank account.

Mike Milan has worked with business leaders across the country on proactive cash flow management and sales strategies. He has been a pioneer in profitability transformations and is known for his hard-hitting practical content, relatable storytelling, infectious energy and lasting impact that he has on organizations.

Mike’s proven methods help to modernize business decision making by linking business goals and key cash metrics. Special thanks to GGBA’s Corporate Partner, Moody’s Analytics, for their support of LGBTQ small businesses!

GGBA MICHELLE BURKART (continued from page 7) According to Maak, “My aerospace job was ending with the relocation of the company I worked for as a facility manager. I wanted my own business so I started it in 2014, at the same time CPUC’s LGBTBE certification started. I was the first LGBT business to be certified by the CPUC and I saw the opportunities and visibility a certification could provide to me. I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time. When I got certified with the CPUC, an affiliate company was looking for an LGBTBE-certified business as a subcontractor to help them win the bid. Thus, within a short time I got my first master contract and my business grew exponentially from starting up in 2015 to $5.5 million in revenues in 2017.”

The impact of his LGBTBE certification certainly jumpstarted his business. It allowed him to grow to more than 40 employees in 15 categories of “mission specialists.” His business plan projects 250 employees by 2020.

Although Maak experienced rapid growth, he says he wants to diversify into other industries, and into the federal contracting world. He stated that the main impact of the CPUC LGBTBE certification, aside from revenues, was the growth of “reputation and credibility” in his company’s performance record as a certified contractor.

This will support his diversification into other contracting areas. Since the LGBTBE certification is not mandated on the federal level, Maak is persisting in finding ways to climb this mountain, especially in this current climate that challenges most diverse communities.

When asked what advice Maak would give to other would-be LGBT-certified business owners, he offered the following tips: • Be sure to have adequate funding sources, as you are paid 60–90 days out.

• Persistence is really important. Take time to talk to everyone, even if there seems to be nothing to talk about, as you never know whom you will meet.

• Seek out the people in the supplier diversity department to build relationships in order to get to the decision maker.

• One does not know everything, so find strategic partners, mentors or other business owners who can help you to navigate the ups and downs of growing your business. The LGBTBE-certified business owner has access to others across the nation, so you are not alone.

• Use the supplier diversity resources that are available to you. With the CPUC affiliates in California, for example, there are great trainings, mentoring and support that an LGBT-certified business has access to through the various affiliate supplier diversity departments.

Maak built a business from a one-person startup and experienced the same growing pains that all entrepreneurs do when building their company. He may have been in the right place at the right time to start his company.

However, to retain that growth and to expand, Maak concurred with our title that persistence pays off ... so never give up!

Michelle Burkart is the principal at Diversity Supplier Alliance. Questions? Reach her at michelle@diversitysupplieralliance.com For more information on LGBTBE certification visit https://www.diversitysupplieralliance.com/

Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun

By Sister Dana Van Iquity Sister Dana sez, “Trump said, ‘I think I’m very normal,’ which psychiatrists have diagnosed as ‘unprovoked denial.’ Do sane Presidents ever need to claim they’re very normal?!”

We queer nuns hosted two glorious receptions at STRUT, 470 Castro Street on April 5th and 15th, where we featured the art of the late Ramon Pablo Vidali in a show entitled CASTRO ON CANVAS: THE ART OF RAMON PABLO VIDALI. His paintings from the early 1980s depict and celebrate The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, celebrating our 40th anniversary this year. In 1982 Ramon Vidali, a well-known street artist in SF, visited the Sisters «convent» and proposed to paint a portrait of each of the nuns somewhere in the Castro. In a little over a year he had painted 26 portraits of the sisters, and they first exhibited them at the STUD back in 1983. In 1985, we lost the artist to AIDS, and for the entire month of April we are celebrating his art.

The top row depicts nuns who are deceased. The bottom row has mostly living nuns.

PEACHES CHRIST PRODUCTIONS presented FIRST WIVES FIGHT CLUB written and directed by Peaches and Varla Jean Merman on April 7th at the Castro Theatre. This was an extremely clever live musical parody mashup of the now-classic films, First Wives Club and Fight Club. It starred the gorgeous and incredible talents of three RuPaul’s Drag Race superstars Raja, Brooke Lynn Hytes and Ginger Minj, plus producer/actress Peaches Christ, along with local favorites Peggy L’eggs and April Kidwell. Unlike other PC Productions, no movies were screened; just the delicious live show in all of its glory! Raja (Annie) had an unexpected wardrobe mishap when her beads suddenly fell apart and rolled all over the stage, leaving Brooke Lynn (Elise) and Ginger (Brenda) to go improv and act like soccer players kicking the beads off the stage. Or was that on purpose as a foreshadowing of Showgirls when Nomi (April) took the stage? At one point, Brenda became Mama Rose in Gypsy. There were plenty of Fight Club fights, where Elise was surely the winner with her ballet moves and high-kickin’ karate kicks. The ladies also burst into “He Had It Comin’” and “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago. The whole show was hilarious.

I should mention that the evening started off with Kylie Minono and friends having a raffle to raise money for the HARVEY MILK CENTER FOR THE ARTS, raising over $2,500. And I am happy to announce that the show is “aboot” to be mounted in Canada with Canadian born Brooke Lynn. That should be fabulous, eh?

SFFILM presented the 62nd SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL with the World Premiere of Netflix’s new original series Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City on April 10th at the Castro Theatre. The evening included a screening of the full first episode (two decades later in today’s EssEff) and a special preview of the upcoming series, followed by a lavish Opening Night Party at the Regency Center.

Show-runner, writer, and executive producer Lauren Morelli; director

and executive producer Alan Poul; author and executive producer Armistead Maupin; and star and executive producer Laura Linney participated in a post-screening Q&A along with six other stars.

Maupin said he got many, many nasty responses from the anti-gay American Family Association. Tales of the City is especially endearing to me because I had a tiny bit part in the movie version as a Castro clone, and I hosted the opening night party, along with several other Sisters, for the live version. SFFILM has film showings all over The City through April 23. https://sffilm.org/ We SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE held our opening reception of W.O.W - 40 YEARS OF HABITS, an exhibition celebrating the unique World of Wimples—coronets and wimples (headdresses) worn

by Sisters worldwide. The W.O.W exhibit runs now through May 11 at the Harvey Milk Photo Center, 50 Scott Street. At the same place, visitors can experience SPI AT 40: THROUGH THE LENS OF OUR COMMUNITY, which is an exhibition of Photography from the Archive Collection of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. We held receptions for both exhibits on April 17.

The Sisters celebrated our 40th Anniversary (among other ways) invading Polk Street and North Beach with our glitter & joy! We took a CITY-WIDE BUS CRAWL into neighborhoods often not visited.

Starting at The Lookout at 7pm we had a drink, some small bites and then boarded the bus. Stopping on Polk Street first, we then headed to North Beach and then home.

Not content to celebrate our 40th on land, we nuns from around the globe boarded the S.S. Horn Blower for a Bay cruise entitled RED VEILS IN THE SUNSET, where we all wore red (especially red veils) with our red habits to commemorate our Ruby Anniversary. Arrrr, matey!

All of these events lead up to what will be the Grand Finale: our INDULGENCE IN THE PARK on Easter Sunday in Dolores Park with several thousands of our closest friends.

Sister Dana sez, “House Dems just introduced a comprehensive LGBTQ civil rights bill, The Equality Act. Every Democrat was an original co-sponsor ... except Dan Lipinski. Lipinski is from a bright blue Illinois district Hillary Clinton won by 15%. Yet he’s Co-Chair of the Pro-Life Caucus, opposed Obamacare and opposes a $15 minimum wage. SHAME!” CITY HALL HEARING ON LGBTQ DISCRIMINATION AND ACCESS TO SERVICES was open to the public, hosted by TLGB EQUITY NETWORK and THE Q FOUNDATION. People testified about their experiences accessing affordable housing and other services in San Francisco. THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS wanted to know if City departments were providing equitable access to LGBTQ and HIV+ San Franciscans.

SF LGBT CENTER presented SOIRÉE 2019 on April 13 at Terra Gallery. Juanita MORE! returned as the fabulous Entertainment Director. Our host and auctioneer was the Slavic popopera drag diva Katya Smirnoff Skyy. Mayor London Breed lauded the Center for its service to the community. Center Executive Director Rebecca Rolfe spoke of The Center as a safe place for both newcomers and old-timers. LadyRyan debuted as Party DJ. I enjoyed live performances (sharing a couch with the lovely Donna Sachet, all in shimmering pink, not red) by House of More, dancing, dining and drinking. Soirée helped the SF LGBT Cen-

ter raise over $40,000 in funds to expand programs and services for our community. https://bit.ly/2KI1lfp On Palm Sunday, several of us EssEff nuns attended the IMPERIAL INVESTITURE of Emperor Terrill Grimes Munro & Empress Baby-Shaques Munro of The Court of Marvel, History, Re-Connection, and Fun. The venue was Calle-11sf. The theme was “Allure of the Jungle.” Emcees included Kylie Minono, Melody De Leon, Matt Welch and Donna Sachet. Performances were by such luminaries as Miss Gay, Amoura Teese; Miss Cowgirl Mimi Mi, the reigning Empress of Reno and many of our local royalty and talent.

We Sisters gave a very special blessing of the Imperials and their subjects.

We know these Imperials and their court will be accomplishing great things for the kingdom and holding lots of fundraisers for many deserving charities.

Sister Dana sez, “Mayor Pete Buttigieg is now the first openly LGBTQ Democratic presidential candidate in American history, shattering a rainbow ceiling thought unbreakable just a few years ago. You go, Pete!”

The family of the late Ernie Asten (the fourth-generation patriarch of CLIFF’S VARIETY, a Castro institution) invited all members of our community to the Memorial event he requested. Folks gathered at 19th and Collingwood Streets by Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy on the afternoon of April 14. They proceeded down Castro Street from 19th Street to Jane Warner Plaza, led by a New Orleans-style Marching Band, as Ernie had requested.

Sister Dana sez, “May Day is coming! Spring has sprung, so you May want to spring on over to these upcoming events!”

Dennis McMillan (aka Sister Dana) and Juan Davila (center) lined up for a photo, during the SF LGBT Center’s Soirée 2019 held at Terra Gallery, with program emcees Katya Smirnoff Skye, Anita MORE! and a member of the event cast.

nental San Francisco, 888 Howard Street. https://www.ourfamily.org/ Hosts Cleve Jones, John Newmeyer and RAINBOW WORLD FUND welcome you to an evening of live Cuban music, Cuba themed cocktails, wine, food and entertainment as they raise funds for PRIDE IN CUBA at Gough House—a beautiful 1889 Victorian Mansion in Pacific Heights, 2004 Gough, April 28, 3 to 6pm. http:// www.rainbowfund.org/ MAITRI presents its annual BLISS fundraiser on Sunday, May 5, CINCO DE MAYO, 4 to 8pm at the Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF, Robertson Auditorium, 1675 Owens Street. No one should have to suffer or die alone. Mai-

tri provides compassionate residential care to men and women in need of hospice or 24-hour care and cultivates the deepest respect and love for life among its residents and caregivers. Enjoy sumptuous food, delightful music and a fun evening with compassionate friends. Don’t miss Bliss! https://maitrisf.org/ Sister Dana sez, “Regarding his new, as-of-yet-unspecified health care plan, T-Rump said: ‘We’re going to have a phenomenal healthcare ... we will be showing you at the appropriate time. It’s much better than Obamacare.’ But he has had four years to come up with a viable healthcare plan. Abracadabra! Healthcare magically disappears!”

Back by popular demand! After a sold out show earlier this year, Bambi, Scrumbly and Birdie are bringing back the witty musical revue and homage to the somewhat seedy Tenderloin, TENDER IS MY LOIN to PianoFight, 144 Taylor, April 22nd, 7:30pm. https://bit.ly/2PejMHl BLOOM! is LYRIC’s 31st Anniversary Open House: (Revolutionary Power from the Margins) on April 25, 5:30 to 7:30pm, 127 Collingwood Street. Experience the vision and voices of youth blooming and leading the future! Admission is free. https://bit.ly/2V5Avli AGUILAS will be celebrating their CINCO DE MAYO festivities on April 25 from 6 to 8:30pm at the 2nd Floor of the LGBT Center.

AGUILAS provides HIV, SDI and Hep C info and testing with the SF AIDS FOUNDATION. They will be honoring Erick Arguello, who has been working with AGUILAS for 25 Years and is now working at Glide Church as their Community Engagement Coordinator. They will also be celebrating the birthday of one of their staff persons at AGUILAS, Norma, who does the scheduling and recruitment for testing.

AGUILAS is dedicated to creating a supportive, culturally sensitive environment for gay/bisexual Latinos. They strive to foster knowledge and pride of the diversity of the language, culture, history and spirituality. http://sfaguilas.org/ At this year’s annual gala, NIGHT OUT, hundreds of leaders and partners in the LGBTQ family justice and education movement will come together to celebrate the wins and gather resources to support OUR FAMILY COALITION’s work in the future. Their mission: Our Family Coalition advances equity for LGBTQ families with children through support, education and advocacy. April 26, 6pm at the IntercontiS AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area

CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2019)

COMING UP

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San Francisco’s newly appointed Fire Chief, Jeanine Nicholson, will have her first opportunity to oversee the annual painting of the Golden Fire Hydrant in conjunction with the 113th Anniversary of the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 on Thursday, April 18. Ceremonies begin at Lotta’s Fountain at 5:12 am, the time of the earthquake.

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS http://sfbaytimes.com/

18 Thursday 113th Anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 @ Lotta’s Fountain and the Golden Fire Hydrant at 20th and Church Streets. The annual early morning celebration at Lotta’s Fountain will be followed by a procession to the Golden Hydrant and a Preparedness Safety Fair at Oracle Park (9am-4pm). 5:12am.

LGBT Housing Equity Hearing on LGBTQ Discrimination and Access to Services @ San Francisco City Hall. TTestify about your experiences regarding housing and services in SF to inform the Board of

Supervisors about what’s needed for our LGBTQ community.10am-1pm.

TLGB Equity Network on Facebook April Show Us Your Spines @ James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, 3rd Floor, 100 Larkin Street. Join writers Dan Lau, Ajuan Mance, Roberto Rodriguez-Estrada and Shelley Wong in a discussion of what they have learned in a month of research. 6-7:30pm. http://www.sfpl.org HRC SF - April Happy Hour for Equality @ Lookout, 3600 16th Street. A mix and mingle with HRC members, volunteers and community leaders where you can find out how to become involved and network too. 6-8pm.

http://www.hrc.org Wimples of the World - 40 Years of Habits Exhibit @ Harvey Milk Photo Center, 50 Scott Street. The exhibit celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Daily except Mondays. http://www.harveymilkphotocenter.org

19 Friday 50th Anniversary Screening of Midnight Cowboy @ SF MOMA, 151 Third Street. Special guests will include Michael Childers who assisted his partner director John Schleslinger in creating this modern classic film. 8:45pm. https://bit.ly/2FLgcQD Queer Qumbia Benefits BAAITS @ La Estrellita Cafe, 446 E 12th Street, Oakland. Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITTS) is the beneficiary of this event featuring music, dancing and networking, hosted by Q2 for queer and trans people of color. 10pm-2am.

Queer Qumbia on Facebook

20 Saturday SFSPCA Saturday Springtime Events: Paint Your Pet Workshop @ SFSPCA Pacific Heights, 2343 Fillmore Street. The series of Saturday offerings continues.You can paint a personalized portrait of your furry best friend.

3-5pm. https://events.sfspca.org/pacificheights Hey Girl Come Out & Play @ Splash San Jose, 65 Post Street.

Featuring DJ Rockaway and DJ Danny Gilmore, the event includes a Lypsync Contest and is sponsored

by Hey Girl, Silicon Valley Pride, Billy deFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center , PLAY and Girl Pages Network. 6-10pm. http://www.svpride.org

21 Sunday Tenderloin Tessie Easter Sunday Dinner @ First Unitarian Church, 1187 Franklin Street.Volunteers are needed and all are welcome for this annual free event. 415-584-3252 Easter Sunday Dance Party @ Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Avenue.

Join Shake It Booty Band and The Party Monsters to celebrate spring with costumes encouraged. 1:305:30pm. http://www.ivyroom.com SFFILM Closing Night Screening: Official Secrets @ Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street.

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Compiled by Blake Dillon Knightley is the closing event of the annual SF International Film Festival.

8pm. http://www.sfflim.org

22 Monday Queer Stories Reign Supreme Exhibit @ Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street. The four-month exhibition includes historical materials, artifacts and archival documents along with representatives of social activism, contemporary artwork, costumes and ephemera. http://www.museumca.org Queer Bowling @ Mission Bowling Club, 3176 17th Street. This 4th Monday bowling event benefits Larkin Street Youth Services. 6-9pm. http://www.missonbowlingclub.com Castro on Canvas: The Art of Ramon Pablo Vidali @ Strut, 470 Castro Street. The exhibit is a display of work by Ramon Pablo Vidali celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Continuing through the ened of this month-810pm. http://www.strutsf.com

23 Tuesday Dining Out for Life @ Multiple Locations. Dine out at participating restaurants and help fund life-saving HIV services in San Francisco. http://www.doflsf.org Queer Community Self Defense Class @ Strut, 470 Castro Street. Conducted by Castro Community On Patrol, this popular class fills up quickly so register soon! 7-10pm. https://bit.ly/2GgXoca Vanity Fair @ A.C.T.’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary Street . A colorful adaptation of William Makepeace Thackery’s satire of 19th century British society with antiheroine Becky Sharp scrambling up social ladders. 8pm continuing through April 26. http://www.act-sf.org

24 Wednesday Castro Community Business District (CBD) Open House @ 693 14th Street (across from Safeway and around the corner from ACE Hardware). Meet neighbors and find out about the work of Castro CBD and executive director Andrea Aiello. 6-8pm. http://ww.castrocbd.org The Women’s Building Screening: Roll Red Roll @ The Women’s Building, 3543 18th Street.

The documentary explores the rape of a teenage girl by football team members in Steubenville, Ohio, and

responses or lack thereof, of bystanders. 6-8:30pm. http://www.womensbuilding.org Argentine Tango Lessons for Gay & Queer Men @ Harvey Milk Center for the Arts, 50 Scott Street. Hosted by the Intercollegiate Alumni group, lessons will be taught

by Georges Naasan, M.D., a Gay Games gold medalist. 7:30-8:45pm. https://bit.ly/2GqR1nY

25 Thursday Queer Slam! @ SF LGBT Center, 1800 Market Street. Queer poets and storytellers will share their stories at this event where you can be a presenter or audience member; presented by SF LGBT Center, Spectrum Queer Media, Safe zone and Kin Folkz. 6-8:30pm. http://www.sfcenter.org Book Talk with Eric Rosswood and Kathleen Archambeau @ Books Inc., 1344 Park Street. The authors will discuss their book We Make It Better about the role of the LGBT community’s positive contributions to society.

7pm. http://www.booksinc.net Alice B. Toklas’ 142nd Birthday Celebration @ Bond Bar, 3079 16th Street. A networking party sponsored by the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club Events Committee. 6-8pm. https://Alice142.eventbrite.com

26 Friday Arden of Faversham @ Kelly Cullen Community Auditorium, 220 Golden Gate Avenue. A production of the Elizabethan dark comedy, a 425-year-old play by an unknown author that includes humor, mystery and suspense in the story of Arden and April Faversham and her lover Moseby. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through May 12. http:// www.theaterofothers.org Our Family Coalition’s Annual Night Out @ The InterContinental San Francisco, 888 Howard Street. Honorees are Iowa Senator Zach Wahls, SF School Board member Alison Collins and Amplify. 6-9pm. http://www.ourfamily.org

27 Saturday April Follies Dance Competition @ Just Dance Ballroom, 2500 Embarcadero, Oakland. The event is the largest and longest-running queer partner dance competition and show in North America. 9:30am Opening/6:30pm Evening Sessions.

http://www.aprilfollies.com Crescendo - San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus Awards Benefit @ Fairmont San Francisco, 950 Mason. Honorees Adam Rippon and Kristin Chenoweth will be there along with Mayor London Breed, Stephen Schwartz, Andrew Lippa, Honey Mahogany, Brian Boitano and more for this reception, dinner and after party. 5:30pm. http://www.sfgmc.org Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar @ Cal Performances, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley. Artistic director of the Théâtre National de Bretagne, Arthur Nauzyciel highlights the continuing relevance of Shakespeare’s great political tragedy. 8 pm and 3pm on April 28. http://www.calperformances.org

28 Sunday Sunday’s A Drag @ The Starlight Room, Powell Street.

Hosted by Donna Sachet, the event features a brunch and a troupe of entertainers. Described as “The Greatest Drag Show in San Francisco,” we agree that it is great!

Every Sunday at 11am. http://www.startlightroomsf.com Smack Dab Queer Open Mic @ Manny’s, 3092 16th Street at Valencia. The event debuts at its new location and features writer Avery Cassell, author of Resistance:The LGBT Fight Against Fascism in WWII. 7pm. http://www.welcometomannys.com

29 Monday Kara Swisher Interviews San Francisco Mayor London Breed @ Manny’s, 3092 16th Street. Tech journalist Swisher will interview the Mayor in an issuesfocused conversation to be published as an episode of Swisher’s Record Decode podcast. 6:307:30pm. http://www.welcometomannys.com Strut Book Club Reads The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue @ Strut, 470 Castro Street.

The monthly book club devoted to discussions of queer lit will talk about Mackenzi Lee’s novel about a young man bred to be a gentleman in England. 7:30-9pm. http://www.strutsf.org

30 Tuesday Weightless @ A.C.T. Strand Theater, 1127 Market Street. The Oakland-based rock band Kilbanes presents a story of sisterhood, love, betrayal and rebirth. Performances through May 12. http://www.act-sf.org

MAY

1 Wednesday F213: Artists Provide the Imagery, Writers Respond Exhibition @ Arc Gallery, 1246 Folsom Street. Presented by the Northern California Women’s Caucus for Art, the exhibit presents the work of multiple women artists whose work is described as a bold artistic expression of feminist protest. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays through May 11. http://www.ncwca.org Two-Spirit Voices: Still Here, Still Queer @ The GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th Street. Included in the Living History Discussion Series, the event features a look at the history of activists of the BAAITS (Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits) organization. 7-9pm. http://www .glbtshistory.org S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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Round About - All Over Town Spring Continues!

Photos by Rink Masood Samereie, newly elected president of the Castro Merchant association, with Dr. Alice Charap and Doug McAllister at the organization’s Membership Mixer held at Starbelly

The annual Macy’s Flower Show is represented in store windows at Union Square.

Castro Business District’s Andrea Aiello (center) with Desmond Morgan and Misha Langley at the Castro Merchant association’s mixer at Starbelly

Story book scenes presented in floral displays promote the annual Macy’s Flower Show at Union Square.

Guests at the Castro Merchants mixer held at Starbelly

The street sign for Jack Kerouac Alley just outside City Lights Bookstore where the 100th birthday of poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was celebrated.

Event co-emcees Sam Gray and Alexis Moran at the SF LGBT Center’s Queer Slam event held on April 11.

Performer Emma Gabriel (center) with friends at Queer Slam at The Center on April 11

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Guests at the April Queer Slam held at The Center on April 11.

Volunteers Benjamin and Latalia served Barefoot wine at Queer Slam on April 11.

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CASTRO STREETCAM presented by

Street banners on Polk Street have the theme “Bold Then Bold Now” depicting SF State University’s students and faculty as activists.

Artist Amanda Ondretti, at Local Take gift shop, invited guests to create original art during the Castro Art Walk on April 4.

http://sfbaytimes.com/ Art Attack SF’s Ashley Voss (right) with artist Haruma Sato on April 4 during the April Castro At Walk.

Artist Thomasina DeMaio, Deric Yak and gallery owner Aviva Kanoff at Spark Art Gallery during the Castro Art Walk on April 4

items of the week

Masashi Niwano of CAAMFEST (Celebrating Asian American Film,Music and Food Festival) welcomed attendees to Origin lounge for the organization’s press conference promoting the upcoming festival (May 9-19).

Chive This truly is our new Chive favorite. Liberte, with its classical almost Oriental style finish, one minute it seems you’re having a picnic in China, the next you’re in Wonderland having tea with Alice and her friends!

Emperor Terrill Grimes Munro and host Juanita MORE! at the Lookout bar during the premiere of the Disco Coalition benefit event series.

Extreme Pizza’s Justin displayed a freshly baked pizza at the Fillmore Street store on April 9.

AGUILAS executive director Eduardo Morales (third from right) with members and friends during the organization’s benefit beer bust at the Eagle Tavern on April 7

AGUILAS buffet and raffle volunteers at the Eagle Tavern during the benefit held on April 7

Wine server Alana and guests discussed the gourmet wine options at Brownie’s Hardware during the Polk Street Wine Walk on April 12.

FoxFarm FoxFarm is a family owned soil and fertilizer company. They were born out of a desire to supply organic and microbe rich environments for growers of all kinds. FoxFarm takes great pride in remaining a renown independent garden supplier, in a world rife with conglomerate buyouts.

Terry Asten Bennett was recently inducted into the Toy Buyers Hall of Fame.

As Heard on the Street . . . What was your reaction when you first saw the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence?

compiled by Rink

Nitosha Kumar

Mohammed Rahman

Miss Chief

Marie Noelle Murphy

Shaun Haines

“Fabulous! It’s so exciting to see so much diversity and love.”

“The first time I saw the Sisters, I assumed that they were affiliated with some church, but then I realized that they are about way more than just religion.”

“The first thing I thought was who are these fabulous people?”

“The first time I saw the Sisters, I thought what a glorious thing it is. I felt a sense of joy.”

“I first saw them on the stage during their Easter pageant in the park, when I was a Hunky Jesus Contest candidate. I thought that this is my beloved Sisters family.”

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