San Francisco Bay Times - March 5, 2015

March 5-18, 2015 | www.sfbaytimes.com /SF Bay Times

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Lunar New Year!

PHOTO BY LONG WU iSTUDIO

The Bay Area’s Proud and Powerful LGBT Asian Community See pages 2-5

Lunar New Year Spotlights Bay Area’s Proud and Powerful LGBT Asian Community The Chinese logogram for the word “pride” consists of two images: the first signifying “oneself” and the second meaning revered, valuable, precious, noble, exalted and honorable.

When such feelings of self-respect match with those of others, the effect can be exhilarating, like the boldly designed colorful floats and literally crackling energy of the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade, which takes place this Saturday, March 7, starting at 5:15pm.

San Francisco sure knows how to do a parade, and this one is obviously no exception. We appreciate that our community is now well represented, and we have always cheered on the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, GAPA float (see the cover of this issue) and other gay-focused contingents. The confluence of Asian and LGBT culture reminds us how strong and impressively large in number the Asian LGBT community here

is in the Bay Area. There is none other like it in the entire country.

“Shi se xing ye”

In this issue of the San Francisco Bay Times we highlight just a few of the many individuals, businesses and organizations that make up the rich fabric of local Asian LGBT life. From gorgeous strutting drag queens to a talented artist who weaves her experiences into paintings and poetry, the diversity and pride are unmistakable and life affirming. We love them all!

(And thinking again of the parade, we’re also big fans of 268-foot-long “Gum Lung”—the Golden Dragon.

It takes over 100 people to carry this spectacular dragon throughout the streets of the city.)

While glowing in natural moon-shine at this weekend’s Lunar New Year celebrations, consider the unbelievably rich history of LGBT Chinese culture. Confucius himself once said, “Shi se xing ye.” This means, “Food and sexuality are natural urges.” It was the “born this way” phrase of its time.

Gung Hey Fat Choy, and see you at the parade!

For more information about this year’s Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco, please visit: http:// www.chineseparade.com/

Lovely Luna Take time to look up during the evenings of this Chinese New Year Parade week in San Francisco. Clouds willing, the very same romantic full moon that we can savor tonight, and which will be 99% visible the night of the parade, is at the center of the festivities. The moon was critical to agrarian cultures in times without artificial lighting, and still influences us in ways that haven’t been fully realized by science.

Entire volumes could be written about queer Chinese history. For example, did you know that the first 10 Han Dynasty emperors were bisexual? All had male consorts in addition to female ones, with Emperor Ai of Han (27–1 B.C.) even handing the imperial seal over to his male lover, Dong Xian, while on his deathbed.

Then there was the legendary Mizi Xia from the Zhou Dynasty period.

This favored male courtier of Duke Ling was known throughout the land because of his beauty. He famously shared a peach with the Duke, with the peach functioning as a literary symbol for their romantic connection. It was their happier version of Adam and Eve’s “apple.” The story was so popular that the phrase “bitten peach” became synonymous with homosexuality. The words “Mizi Xia” referred to a young man desired as a sexual partner.

Inspired by the story, the Liang Dynasty poet Liu Zun later wrote, “Love of the half-eaten peach never dies.” While gazing at the moon then this week, dream upon the immortalized handsome Mizi Xia and be thankful that we too are born this way.

The Year of Equality

By Stuart Gaffney, Marriage Equality USA

During the California case for marr iage equa l it y, A PI communit y groups—both LGBT and allies— came together to author an amicus brief to the California Supreme Court making the case for marriage equality from an Asian American perspective. Thanks to leaders too numerous to name, over 60 API organizations from our many communities signed on urging the court to learn from the history of how Asian Americans had suffered from marriage inequality, and how LGBT people should not have to face that same discrimination. This coalition also worked tirelessly during the Proposition 8 campaign, and afterwards, engaging in the countless personal conversations that have now led to majority support for marriage equality.

After the San Francisco City Hall weddings of 2004, a group of newlyweds, community organizers, and dedicated activists came together to plan an historic event: the first ever f loat celebrating the marriages of same-sex couples in the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade. Led by the Gay Asian Pacif ic Alliance (GAPA) and the newly formed API Equality, this team took great care to incorporate Chinese wedding symbols and traditions to convey the universal joy of the newlyweds.

PHOTO BY LONG WU, ISTUDIO

Groups including Chinese for Affirmative Action, APIQWTC, the Network on Religion and Justice, and Marriage Equality USA joined the effort to make this dream a reality. A tradition was born, as marriage equality themes appeared for years to come in both the San Francisco and Los Angeles new year parades, building on the work of API LGBT groups such as GAPA with its long, proud history of parade floats—and now most recently the Tet Parade in the Vietnamese

community in Orange County welcomed its first LGBT contingent.

When John and I got married in 2004, our City Hall wedding took place right before our family Lunar New Year party, where each year we gather with 30 or more cousins hosted by the Chinese side of my family.

We hadn’t planned to announce our wedding at the family new year gathering, but it turned out that one of my cousins had brought champagne for the occasion and proposed a toast that turned our annual family festivities into a spontaneous wedding reception.

My own parents were only able tomarry thanks to the California Su2

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preme Court’s landmark decision in 1948 that overturned the state ban on interracial marriage. My parents had three children, but didn’t realize as we were growing up that one of us would be gay and would also want to marry. It was exactly 60 years later that the California Supreme Court once again ruled in favor of marriage equality in 2008, this time overturning the state ban on marriage for same-sex couples. John and I had the honor of being one of the plaintiff couples in that case, and it was a dream come true to see our parents witness the next generation in our family winning the freedom to marry as we got legally married surrounded by friends and family that year.

Over the past two years, John and I have traveled to Asia to speak about LGBT rights and marriage equality.

We have met many inspiring activists, and we had the honor of introducing the marriage ceremony that highlighted the Pink Dot Okinawa rally and celebration last summer. Change is in the air, as in just the past year we have seen a marriage bill proposal in Taiwan, progress towards partnership recognition in Tokyo and Yokohama in Japan, and signs of progress in countries including Vietnam, China, Nepal, Thailand and more.

Most recently, Rep. Mike Honda tweeted a picture hugging his grandchild with the caption, “As the proud grandpa of a transgender grandchild, I hope she can feel safe at school without fear of being bullied.” These are true family values, transcending all languages and cultures. As we mark the beginning of the lunar new year—and prepare for another U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer—what a great reminder that it is this simple message of love and respect that is changing hearts and minds in our movement towards full equality in all aspects of our lives.

Stuart Gaffney and his husband John Lewis, together for three decades and featured on the cover of this issue, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. They are leaders in the nationwide grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA.

Empress of the Greatest, Gayest City on Earth

honey, look at me now. Here I am, a drag queen…scratch that, an Empress, with crowns, gowns and all, ready to lead and inspire a new generation to fundraise and serve our community.

Empress Khmera Rouge with Emperor Kevin Lisle at the Imperial Council of San Francisco Coronation 50

dinner and Gala at City Hall. During that Gala, I kept thinking to myself, “My how far we’ve come. Where else but here could Nelly Queens from across the country take over the seat of power of San Francisco to celebrate all of our gaiety and fabulousness?”

Being Empress means many things to many different people, as does being LGBT or Asian American. Being an Asian-American LGBT individual, to me, means standing out, bringing

a different point of view to the table, and having to work twice as hard to find your identity.

Growing up as an Asian-American child, I always felt like I grew up in a “melting pot” of cultures, ideas and points of view. I was always taught to follow and uphold tradition and never to go against the social norm. It was not until I came to San Francisco that I realized just how vast and varied

PHOTO BY LONG WU, ISTUDIO

I was recently elected Empress of the Imperial Council of San Francisco, an organization that is part of The International Court System, one of the oldest and largest continuously running LGBT fundraising organizations in the world. We are currently celebrating our 50th anniversary and just wrapped up a week of events and celebrations this past February. The festivities culminated in a sit down

Khmera performing at Coronation 50

Empress Khmera and Emperor Kevin at the Academy of Friends Gala 2015

PHOTO BY RINK

I am a Cambodian-Chinese American Washingtonian transplant living in San Francisco, and I am oh so happy I decided to move here on a whim in 2010. I am also a drag performer. In my spare time, I help to fundraise for various LGBT and API (Asian Pacific Islander) non-profit organizations under the stage name Khmera Rouge.

PHOTO BY STEVEN UNDERHILL, STEVENUNDERHILL.COM

“Where else, but here in San Francisco?” This is a simple question that I have asked myself many times over since moving to the Bay Area.

It came to mind as I was invited to talk a bit about my thoughts on Asian and LGBT culture. I again found myself asking where else, but here in San Francisco, would you want to be if you were gay and Asian?

PHOTO BY STEVEN UNDERHILLL, STEVENUNDERHILL.COM

By Khmera Rouge

that pot was, and how much more there was to life.

I was blown away by how welcoming and open the API and LGBT community was here, and how many amazing organizations and services—such as API Wellness Center and GAPA (The Gay Asian Pacific Alliance)—were available for people just like me. Growing up in Washington, there was a sizable API community and LGBT support network, but not nearly to the extent that there is here in the Bay Area.

Growing up, I vividly remember trying to figure out who I was as a person who identified as being Asian and LGBT. In an attempt to “fit in,” I tried to suppress who I was. I remember wanting to blend in and to change myself to be more “American” and “straight.” But as I got older, I realized that the only way for anyone to be happy was to be true to yourself, and if that meant breaking away from tradition, then so be it.

I never felt like I was the stereotypical “Asian” child, if there is such a thing, but I remember always shying away from the spotlight and being perfectly fine blending into the background. But,

As your Empress, it is my goal to raise funds and support groups and organizations that fight hunger within our community and support education and services for LGBT youth. I hope you will be able to join us throughout this upcoming year and help us in doing so.

In closing, just a final thought: AsianPacific American Heritage Month, celebrated nationally in the month of May of every year, is still just a few short months away and Pride month is right after that. I’ve come to the realization that there is too much API and LGBT Pride here in San Francisco to limit it to just one short month.

It should be celebrated here in San Francisco year round, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And to an extent, I think we already do that.

We are all San Francisco, and San Francisco is all of us.

Where else, but here in San Francisco, can a little boy from Washington grow up to become Empress of the greatest, gayest city on earth?

Khmera Rouge is the reigning Empress of the Imperial Council of San Francisco.

Khmera currently serves on the board of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club and was recently elected as a delegate for the California Democratic Party, Assembly District 17. Before being elected Empress, Khmera was the Queen of Hearts for the Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco as well as the 25th Miss GAPA (Gay Asian Pacific Alliance).

AsiaSF Offers Gender Transcendence

By Lord Martine

Equally enticing is the delectable three-star Cal-Asian cuisine. The menu of titillating specialty plates is designed for AsiaSF pleasure enthusiasts to share. Each dish is artfully prepared with experienced consideration, using only the freshest of seasonal produce and the finest locally procured ingredients.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ASIASF

Blazing into its 17th triumphant year, AsiaSF, in a city of icons, has achieved iconic status as the must-visit entertainment landmark that continues to pioneer the modern transgender movement. A vision of proprietors Larry Hashbarger, Skip Young, Greg Lockamy and Aaron Nelson, this restaurant/ cabaret/dance club is the choice for those celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, bachelorette parties, office fetes and life itself. AsiaSF is categorically the ultimate San Francisco experience in culinary excellence, exemplary service, breathtaking entertainment and eclectic diversity.

“AsiaSF’s mission has always been to create dignified career opportunities for all its transgender employees by celebrating human diversity,” Hashbarger says. “We change people’s attitudes—without preaching. Many of our guests have never had the experience we offer. They become enlightened. We have created a sacred space where it’s ok to be you.”

dent and talented ladies of AsiaSF. Each night, the world-famous transgender superstars serve superb threestar Cal-Asian cuisine and—directed by choreographer Ronnie Reddick— deliver dazzling hourly performances atop the red runway.

Making AsiaSF an incomparable destination of celebrated diversity are the luminaries of the evening: the resplen-

“Our chromatic AsiaSF family,” Hashbarger says, “creates opportunity for our cherished customers to become

further enlightened to the rich contribution and relevance of each human being. We’ve established intimate relationships with hundreds-of-thousands of people worldwide. To witness the reception of a dream, with which I am so impassioned, brings joy and gratitude.”

Of the mouthwatering first course distinctions are the signature Asia-dillas: a quesadilla stuffed with smoked duck, jack cheese, fresno peppers and scallions topped with a sun-dried cherry crème fraiche. The tantalizing Grilled Shrimp and Herb Salad teases the taste buds with a chiffonade of Chinese cabbage, cilantro, mint, basil, toasted coconut and chopped peanuts tossed in a Thai vinaigrette.

Among the exceptional main courses, foodies rave about the perfectly grilled “Baby Got Back” tender pork ribs served with a honey-tamarind glaze, pickled carrot slices and sweet potato crisps. Another outstanding hit is the sautéed Miso Glazed King Pacific Salmon served on a bed of black “forbidden” rice and sweet tomato-edamame salad.

Finally, AsiaSF offers a profusion of extravagant libations and prodigious signature cocktails. Each gem is inspired by, and is named after, the darling ladies of AsiaSF, and is made with top-shelf liquors, the freshest juices and quality mixers. Choice sips include Amber’s AppleSaketini, which is a sexy infusion of unfiltered sake, apple liqueur and sweet and sour. Karmina’s Kiss is a sweet concoction of Finlandia vodka, peach schnapps, Triple Sec, orange, pineapple and cranberry juices over a layer of grenadine.

“Here, it’s a celebrAsiaSF!” Young says. “Upon entering, our guests rapidly imbibe the inviting conviviality.

Together, we create happy memories that last a lifetime.”

AsiaSF is located at 201 Ninth Street at Howard Street. For reservations, please call 415- 255-ASIA (2742) or find us online at asiasf.com Edge Boston has called Lord Martine “San Francisco’s Nightlife King,” due to his successful work on so many events in the city. He is a well-known marketing and PR consultant, as well as a writer, producer and fashion designer.

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Role Model Alma Soongi Beck, Esq., Mixes Legal Savvy with Community Service

MARCH 14–JULY 19, 2015

Legion of Honor Lincoln Park • legionofhonor.org

This exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

President’s Circle: The Estate of Merrill and Hedy Thruston. Conservator’s Circle: The Diana Dollar Knowles Fund. Benefactor’s Circle: The Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund, the Estate of Harriet E. Lang, and Robert and Carole McNeil. Patron’s Circle: Mr. and Mrs. William Hamilton, Mrs. James K. McWilliams, and Jim and Arlene Sullivan. Additional support provided through proceeds from The Art of Fashion: Runway Show and Luncheon. Digital Design by Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

Media Sponsors Charles James, “Tree” ball gown, 1955. Silk taffeta and tulle. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Douglas Fairbanks Jr., 1981.

Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Singer-songwriter

Rachel Garlin Performing songs from her new album: “Wink at July”

with

JULIE WOLF

and full band

Sat March 14 Doors open at 7:30, Music at 8pm

at Viracocha: 998 Valencia St. San Francisco Tickets: $15 in advance, $18 at the door

BrownPaperTickets.com First Place Winner, Newport Folk Festival Talent Search

www.rachelgarlin.com

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Even the most confident and strong among us can feel defeated by legal troubles, but that’s where Alma Soongi Beck, Esq., comes in like a superhero, resolving complex issues concerning estates, trusts, taxes, domestic partnership, property co-ownership and more with ease. Still more remarkable is that much of her time is spent conducting free workshops and doing other pro bono work that has immeasurably benefited our community over the years. It is little wonder that AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, the Golden Gate Business Association and other organizations have recognized her tireless efforts.

Beck generously took time out of her very hectic schedule for the San Francisco Bay Times to discuss some of the current legal challenges facing LGBT individuals—particularly those of Asian heritage—and to address other topics. This graduate of both Yale and Georgetown is extremely sharp, so we encourage you not only to take her advice to heart, but also to attend one of her free workshops. For a list of times and dates, please visit: http:// w w w.beck lawg roup.com/EstatePlanning-workshops.php S a n Fr a nc i s c o Bay Ti me s: You have done a tremendous amount of volunteer work over the years, given your efforts with the AIDS Legal Referral Panel, your free workshops and much more. What motivates you to do such pro bono work, and what are some of the rewards that you have received from it?

Alma Soongi Beck: I have been involved in public interest and social activism since at least high school. I think it comes from my parents, who were always encouraging us to think beyond ourselves and our own personal well being onto broader social issues and the well-being of the rest of the world. They are immigrants from a country (Korea) that faced more war and occupation than really any human being should, and perhaps for this reason, our favorite topics at the dinner table continue to be history, politics, the betterment of society, and other fundamentals of human well being.

In college, I remained active on race, gender, and LGBT issues, and chose to major in an American Studies Program with an Ethnic Studies concentration (my senior thesis was on Asian American Women and Flapper Culture of the 1920s). I then spent two years doing non-profit work in D.C., on racial diversity in the women’s reproductive rights movement, and in one of the first Americorps programs at the beginning of President Clinton’s first term, for training and developing public service among young adults (where, by total coincidence, Michelle Robinson (later Obama) was my co-worker before she was married!). I knew it was time to become a lawyer when I was accepted into the Public Interest Law Scholars program at Georgetown University Law Center.

When it came time for me to choose where to take my work life as a lawyer, I was asked by a very wise colleague, “What Do You Want?” The immediate answer in my mind was to serve the LGBT community. I had tried my hand for a couple of years doing employment law, developing antiharassment and anti-discrimination training for employers, and trying futilely to avoid the stresses of litigation.

hetero married couples in their legal and financial work. This has been a concern in other oppressed communities, such as in anti-racism work when white folks assume that treating people of color “the same” is the goal of anti-racism work. I would probably articulate the goal more as treating people of color like “we” want to be treated, and for LGBT couples, treating them like they need to be treated, with a more discerning analysis.

I had been involved in the Bay Area LGBT community for many years, mostly in Asian and Pacific Islanders LGBT circles. Back then, in the year 2000, it was clear there were few legal protections for same-sex couples beyond hospital visitation rights under the newly christened state-wide domestic partnership registry, and some of the best City/County benefits, but only for City/County employees. It was a completely different world for most LGBT couples, and without estate planning documents, people really had no protection around inheritance or control upon incapacity. After meeting with many of the members of the LGBT Bar who were estate planners, it was easy to choose where to focus.

From there, it was just a matter of time to build the practice, go back to school for the LL.M. degree in Taxation, start volunteering to do free wills through the AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP), and conduct free legal workshops to educate the LGBT community. I started with my own circles, among LGBT people of color, and then eventually took it more broadly.

Back then, the important thing was getting as many people as possible to understand and do their documents, to increase the general awareness across the larger LGBT community.

At this point, over 14 years later, the free legal workshops are just an integral part of our practice. We realize that not everyone who attends will become our clients, which is fine. Our goal is to educate the community and make sure people understand the issues affecting our community, and if they do need an attorney to assist, we can certainly help.

San Francisco Bay Times: What are a few of the key challenges that your LGBT clients are facing now, and how do you help them to resolve these matters?

Alma Soongi Beck: On the one hand, federal recognition of marriage after the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor has dramatically changed (and improved) the community’s perspective of ourselves and our relationships with our families. Not in all cases, and not everywhere, but still, the tone of how people talk about their relationships is noticeably different than 14+ years ago when I started my practice and people were more regularly calling our office because their partner died and the partner’s parents were taking the furniture and trying to get them kicked out of the house.

On the other hand, I’m still concerned that LGBT clients who are married and some of their advisors may be more willing to be complacent after Windsor. Most LGBT couples, including married ones, are not yet ready to be treated “the same” as

For instance, some people may want to restructure their documents, or unwind planning that was done before federal marriage recognition, or execute new deeds or property agreements that “transmute” (change) property into community property in order to take advantage of the capital gains advantages for surviving spouses. Others need counsel on the tax and financial benefits and burdens of marriage, and of state domestic partnership. The LGBT community has never been a one-size-fits-all community, and with federal marriage recognition, it still is not.

San Francisco Bay Times: Do you think that attitudes toward LGBT individuals are changing for the better among Korean Americans? How so, and what might be done to further improve the current situation?

Alma Soongi Beck: I think attitudes toward LGBT individuals are improving among all communities.

Marriage recognition has been a game-changer. Back in 2008, soon after the California Supreme Court marriage decision, I was invited to do a talk in Seoul, South Korea, for a room full of LGBT activists. I talked about the evolving California law, but frankly, they were mostly interested in the stories—people getting married to long-time partners who may have been accepted by families, but who were now being thought of completely differently now that they could get legally married. The stories were met by most with tears of hope and disbelief.

I realize that marriage is not the only, and not the most important, issue for the community. But it has been an important spearhead to move the community forward in many ways, both legally and socially. I hope very much that the momentum is only going to continue throughout the rest of the United States. It is bringing the country to a new threshold of justice and fairness, which can only benefit the country no matter how many feelings that some people may still have about it. The next interesting question for Korean Americans will be to see how this might continue to reverberate in Korea, where the social, political, and cultural views on marriage and heterosexism are so different.

San Francisco Bay Times: What are some of your favorite organizations or other resources that are dedicated to helping LGBT individuals with Asian backgrounds and their allies?

Alma Soongi Beck: I have to preface this with an apology in advance for any I may be leaving out. My list is only as good as my own contact and exposure with the broad range of organizations that serve the Asian and Pacific Islander LGBT communities.

The ones that come first to mind are some of the longest-standing Bay Area organizations, such as GAPA (Gay Asian Pacific Alliance for gay, bi, and queer men), APIQWTC (formerly (continued on page 26)

Lenore Chinn Challenges Social Conventions Through Her Award-winning Art and Poetry Realist painter Lenore Chinn’s bold and distinctive works command attention. We’ve found ourselves captivated for lengthy periods, absorbing every emotion, brushstroke and minute detail. As great fans of her paintings, we were happily surprised to learn that she’s been following the San Francisco Bay Times for quite a while, and recalls being included in the paper for various reasons since the 1980s, usually due to her participation in charitable or activist events.

This prolif ic artist and poet grew up in San Francisco’s Richmond District. She is included in both the exquisite and highly recommended “Lesbian Art in America: A Contemporary History” (Rizzoli, 2000) and the “Encyclopedia of Asian American A rtists” (Greenwood Press, 2007). She is also the subject of the book “Cultural Conf luences: The Art of Lenore Chinn” (Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, 2011).

Chinn doesn’t shy away from exploring a wide spectrum of people of color, lesbians and other LGBT couples in her projects. Her portraits document the historical evolution of San Francisco’s queer community, and challenge the social conventions that currently constitute what she refers to as “the racialized order of things.” Chinn shared that she employs “a coded iconography rooted in a lesbian/gay cultural perspective” to “fuse an Asian aesthetic of sparseness and clarity with visual narratives that counteract the ‘magic-truth rituals’ of racial and gender construction.”

We are honored to present four of Chinn’s signature pieces, described for us in her own words:

“Bok Kai Temple shows the interior of the Bok Kai Temple located in Marysville, California, where an annual festival draws thousands into the area around the time of the lunar new year.” For more information about this event, please visit http://bokkaiparade.com “Bing features the late Abstract Expressionist painter and local Beat artist Bernice Bing, who is the subject of a film by Madeleine Lim that is coproduced by Asian American Women Artists Association and Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project.

You can learn more about her history at https://www.facebook.com/BerniceBingFilm” “Before the Wedding is a portrait of Oakland-based artist and California College of the Arts professor Kim Anno and her partner Ellen Meyers.

They were getting ready to go to a wedding and later, they were among the few couples who initially married when the opportunity presented itself. So far, Prop 8 proponents have not been successful in nullifying their union.”

Bok Kai Temple

“Veuxdo in the Fillmore shows two women, friends, who are part of an online magazine called Veuxdo. I met Chelsea Mone’t and Bootsy Akbar (aka Lala Openi) on my way to a group show I was in across the street at a pop-up gallery called Gallery 1307.

Like the bookstore these two artists were selling their shirts in front of, it no longer exists.”

For more information about Chinn and her work, please go to: www.lenorechinn.com

Veuxdo in the Fillmore

Before the Wedding

The book about Chinn’s work, Cultural Confluences, was published by Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, apiculturalcenter.org, and is available on amazon.com

Bing

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In the News

11, in the usual market space at Noe/ Market/16th Streets. Then the market will be there every Wednesday through December 16 from 4 to 8pm. Fresh vegetables, fruit and locally produced items will be available for purchase every week.

By Dennis McMillan Senator Leno Introduces New Effort to Close Ellis Act Loophole Senator Mark Leno has introduced new legislation that would help mitigate the negative impacts of Ellis Act evictions in San Francisco. Senate Bill 364 closes a loophole in the Ellis Act that allows speculators to buy rent-controlled buildings in San Francisco and immediately begin the process of evicting long-term renters. The new bill mirrors SB 1439, which was approved by the Senate last year, but fell one vote short in the Assembly Housing Committee. SB 364 is sponsored by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. SB 364 authorizes San Francisco to prohibit new property owners from invoking the Ellis Act to evict tenants for five years after the acquisition of a property. It also ensures that landlords can only activate their Ellis Act rights once, and creates penalties for violations of these new provisions.

Legislation Would Ensure California Better Meets the Needs of LGBTQ Communities Equality California and Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) introduced Assembly Bills 959 and 960 addressing concerns voiced by the LGBTQ communities regarding services overseen by state agencies and equal protections for our families. AB 959, the LGBT Disparities Reduction Act, requires specific state agencies to collect voluntary information about sexual orientation and gender identity in the regular course of collecting other types of demographic data. AB 960, the Equal Protection for All Families Act, modernizes the state’s assisted reproduction laws to ensure all couples using assisted reproduction are fully recognized as parents.

Mayor Lee Comments on FCC Approval of New Rules on Net Neutrality Mayor Ed Lee, an early and vocal supporter of net neutrality, spoke regarding the Federal Communications Commission approval of Title II, supporting net neutrality and protecting the open Internet, stating that net neutrality and an open Internet are necessary to foster and support innovation. He applauds the FCC for its historic vote to support an open Internet for everyone. In order for San Francisco and other U.S. cities to continue to grow, thrive and succeed, he said everyone needs equal access to the Internet—access to the same high quality, fast speed data. Net neutrality makes this possible.

Grand Opening of 19th Street Uptown Bike Station Held As part of the ongoing effort to promote public transportation, health and ecofriendly living, access to secure bike parking is an essential component. Uptown Bike Station, which Oakland Vice Mayor and San Francisco Bay Times columnist Rebecca Kaplan initiated, will help to increase bike ridership, reduce bike thefts, and improve quality of life. It also fills a vacant storefront, will provide bike repair services, and contributes to supporting our local economy. Currently, there are four other bike stations in operation in the Bay Area: Downtown Berkeley, Fruitvale, Embarcadero and Ashby BART stations. The celebration of the grand opening was on February 25 at 1775 Broadway.

Late Night Transportation Plan Released Supervisor Scott Wiener held a press conference—along with the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Entertainment Commission and the County Transportation Authority—to announce the release of the Late Night Transportation Plan, which contains recommendations on improving San Francisco’s late night and early morning transportation service.

The plan makes recommendations in San Francisco and regionally, including expanding cross bay service through improved 24-hour bus lines and eventual 24-hour BART service. The plan is the result of months of work by the Late Night Transportation Working Group that Supervisor Wiener convened via legislation to identify challenges and recommend solutions to improve service, accessibility, reliability and safety for nightlife patrons, late night workers and all residents.

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Four Alarm Fire Contained in the Castro The San Francisco Fire Department contained what was at first a 3-alarm fire that broke out on 15th and Church streets February 21, according to a fire dispatcher. The fire broke out around 4 pm at 1985 15th Street in the City’s Castro/ Upper Market neighborhood. The dispatcher said at least 85 firefighters were on the scene. It was quickly upgraded to a 4-alarm fire, and appears to have damaged several buildings. One firefighter on scene suffered smoke inhalation. There were no injuries to any tenants. About a dozen people got out of the burning buildings; but a housecat was found in one unit, suffering from smoke inhalation, and was given oxygen and eventually revived.

Kaiser Mental Health Patients Share Stories of Inadequate Care on New Website With all the news breaking on Kaiser’s continued failure to reduce mental health wait times—including a Department of Managed Health Care report finding that in Kaiser’s northern region, appointment times for mental health services did not occur within the required regulatory time frame 22% of the time, while in Kaiser’s southern region, appointment times failed to meet the required window 9% of the time—the California-based Courage Campaign launched a new microsite: TheRealKaiserPermanete.com The site features stories from actual Kaiser mental health patients and caregivers impacted.

Despite $4 million in fines against Kaiser Permanente for failure to provide adequate services, wait times for mental health patients seeking treatment remain high, and patients continue to suffer.

SF Department of Public Health Publishes Health Advisory on Ocular Syphilis Since December 2014, seven cases of ocular syphilis have been reported in San Francisco. Five of the affected individuals were men who have sex with men, and six were HIV-infected. The cause of this cluster of cases is uncertain.

An increase in cases was also recently reported in King County, WA. Several of the cases have resulted in a significant and permanent decline in visual acuity.

Evidence suggests that certain strains of Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis, may be more likely to cause central nervous system (CNS) disease. It is not known whether there are strains of T. pallidum that have a greater likelihood of causing ocular infections, but the cluster of cases raises this possibility. sfcityclinic.org Castro Community on Patrol Training Offered Castro Community on Patrol is looking for new volunteers to become part of the “Walking Neighborhood Watch” that has helped improve the safety of the Castro and Duboce Triangle since 2006. It will help people understand how to watch for and how to report various types of crime.

The next Patrol Volunteer Basic Training Class will take place on March 10 from 7 to 10pm in the Castro. To pre-register for the class, go to CastroPatrol.org and click on the “SIGN UP NOW” link on the home page.

Meeting Scheduled Regarding Muni and Twin Peaks Tunnel To maintain our Muni system and keep trains running effectively, SFMTA will be replacing all the tracks inside Twin Peaks Tunnel, running between Castro and West Portal Muni stations. A number of retrofits to the inside of the tunnel will also take place during the track replacement to avoid future shutdowns.

One of the meetings—Thursday, March 26, 6 to 7:30pm, Castro Community Meeting Room, 501 Castro Street—will provide more information about this project and allow residents to ask questions and voice their concerns. sfmta.com Castro Farmers’ Market to Open This year’s eagerly-awaited annual Grand Opening of the Castro Merchants-sponsored Castro Farmers’ Market will be at 5pm on Wednesday, March

Jane Warner Plaza Remains Closed The Plaza at the 17th and Castro Streets F-line trolley stop is now closed for a few months. The tables and chairs are in storage. This allows the S.F. Dept. of Public Works to make repairs and some design changes—including new landscaping, fencing around planters, better rules signage, and making the Plaza more open. During the time the Plaza is closed, Supervisor Scott Wiener plans to introduce further legislation that will enable better enforcement. Some homeless advocates claim this is to marginalize and scapegoat those on the streets.

Project Open Hand Board Appoints Co-CEOs The Board of Directors of Project Open Hand (POH) has appointed Simon Pitchford and Mark Ryle as Co-Chief Executive Officers, starting April 4.

This appointment follows POH’s recent announcement of the departure of its current Executive Director, Kevin Winge. Pitchford joined POH in July 2012 and currently serves as Associate Executive Director, Operations & Strategic Initiatives. Ryle joined POH in August 2013 and currently serves as Associate Executive Director, Finance, Wellness Programs & Strategic Initiatives. As Co-CEOs, they will lead the organization equally, sharing responsibility for strategic planning, the budget and community relationships.

GSA Network Announces CoExecutive Directors Under New Leadership Model The national queer, trans, and ally youth leadership organization Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA Network) announced a shift in organizational structure with the appointment of two long-term organizational leaders, Ginna Brelsford and Geoffrey Winder, as CoExecutive Directors, and the departure of Deputy Director Laura Valdéz. This announcement was timed with Valdéz’s decision, after four years of service, to transition out of the organization. GSA Network decided to explore this new leadership model after eight months of organizational reflection and strategic thinking following the departure of the organization’s founding executive director.

Application for Community Partner Beneficiary Program Now Online San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration & Parade is accepting applications for the 2015 Community Partner Program. In 2014, $164,608.33 was granted to its partners as a result of beverage purchases and gate donations.

The program is open to any nonprofit organization based in the nine counties of the Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma) whose mission involves service to LGBTQ communities, seniors, youth, anti-bullying, housing advocacy, animal welfare/rights, people living with HIV/ AIDS, cancer, or homelessness. Since 1997, the Community Partners Program has given nearly $2.4 million to local nonprofits. For more information, view the eligibility and application requirements at sfpride.org/community Show Pride in Your Neighborhood; Become a Castro Ambassador Castro Ambassadors volunteer to provide a friendly and hospitable impression of the Castro by directing pedestrians to civic, shopping and business destinations. Volunteer Ambassadors are equipped with training, uniforms, maps and other tools to help them talk to tourists and direct them to places of interest. Ambassadors receive ongoing support from a team coordinator. The Castro Ambassadors program primarily operates on weekends, but is designed to be flexible, meeting the needs of the individual volunteers and tourists. If you are interested in becoming a Castro Ambassador or have any questions, contact the CBD through Executive Director Andrea Aiello at execdirector@ castrocbd.org or call 415-500-1181.

Fighting Discrimination in Education Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco, Junipero Serra in San Mateo, and Marin Catholic in Kentfield.

Assemblymember Phil Ting (Editor’s Note: This article marks the debut of new San Francisco Bay Times columnist Assemblymember Phil Ting, who has been a longtime ally of our community. As you can see in the below piece, he is not afraid to take a stand for our rights, something that we have observed time and time again from him over the years. We are honored to include this series in our paper, and encourage you to learn more about Assemblymember Ting by visiting http:// asmdc.org/members/a19/) People facing discrimination have found a home in the Bay Area because we cherish diversity and celebrate it with pride.

This explains the shock over discriminatory morality clauses imposed on educators at four Bay Area Catholic high schools administered by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, including Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory and

Released by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on February 4, the morality clauses outline expansive limits on the personal and private lives of teachers, administrators, and staff. They are expected to “arrange and conduct their lives” so as to “not visibly contradict, undermine or deny” a rejection of personal freedoms protected in law. Among these freedoms are the choice of whom to love and marry, how to plan a family, and what causes to support through freedom of speech and association.

The morality clauses were released in tandem with a new contract for teachers that, if adopted, would reclassify them as “ministers” regardless of their duties on campus. This places the Archdiocese on a path no other employer could legally pursue. While the Archbishop has since said he will withdraw that reclassification, he has expressed interest in using the word “ministry” instead. But this appears to be a distinction without a difference, setting up a scenario where teachers can be fired without recourse for exercising their civil rights.

How is this possible? The approach exploits a narrow exemption in federal anti-discrimination law intended to protect the free exercise of religion.

That is why a group of lawmakers and I urged the Archbishop to change course and withdraw these morality clauses.

Assemblymember Phil Ting

They conflict with settled areas of law, foment a discriminatory environment in our community, and send an alarming message of intolerance. Unfortunately, the Archbishop has not accepted our invitation to meet and find common ground.

Last month, Assemblymember Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo) and I asked the State Legislature to investigate any recourse available to preserve the rights of teachers at the affected schools because the Bay Area must not become a laboratory for discrimination under the guise of religion.

Much is at stake. These schools have deep roots in our community, dating back to 1852, and are greatly revered for educating generations of local leaders. Aside from sending a terrible message to LGBT students and their families, these hostile working conditions risk the ability of these schools to attract and retain the best educators. If they cannot, the future of their legacy is compromised and we all lose.

Through these challenging times, I have taken great inspiration from the students taking a stand against discrimination in their schools. That provides a tremendous source of hope over the values motivating those who will lead us in the future.

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which spans the Westside of San Francisco as well as the communities of Broadmoor, Colma, and Daly City.

LGBT in Oakland: How Far We’ve Come, and Our Next Steps over the region. Welcome, Vice Mayor Kaplan!)

As the City of Oakland’s first openlylesbian elected official, I have seen and participated in important progress, as our sunny, diverse city has become more welcoming of our LGBT community, and as members of our community have stepped up in leadership in the world of business, non-profit, government and more.

Out of the Closet and into City Hall Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan (Editor’s Note: A while back, we mentioned the future launch of a new San Francisco Bay Times column authored

by Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan. We are now delighted to begin that series. Vice Mayor Kaplan has been a friend and supporter for many years. She also lives and works in the East Bay, which has a huge LGBT population that includes more lesbians than any other part of the country.

We often say that we are “bi-Bay” here at the paper, since we have offices on both sides of the Bay and our team includes staff and contributors from all

Ref lecting on the progress, and on what remains to be done, it becomes clear how important it can be to come out, step up, and speak out.

In 2000, when I first ran for office, many people I met at community organizations told me I was the first openly gay person they had ever met. Our community was struggling in the face of the well-funded anti-gay Proposition 22, and few in positions of leadership were out of the closet.

The year I was elected to the Oakland City Council At-Large seat, in 2008, Rachel Maddow got her TV anchor gig and many LGBT people from all walks of life were increasing public visibility.

Say “The Bay Times sent me!”

Oakland LGBT Businesses We invite you to check out these and the many other LGBT businesses in the East Bay: Bench and Bar: www.bench-and-bar.com

In our years here at city hall, we have successfully fought for funding to serve LGBT youth, to support Pride and other pro-LGBT Oakland events, and we’ve seen and encouraged the growth of LGBT owned businesses, including the Bench and Bar, Feelmore 510, Show & Tell, the newly relocated Laurel bookstore in Frank Ogawa plaza, and more. In addition to this, we have also had conferences like Butch Voices in Oakland; a first butch clothier, founded in Oakland, Saint Harridan; and a fabulous new TV/online show, “Dyke Central,” filmed in Oakland.

Organizations have started here, such as Brown Boi Project, while others have relocated to Oakland, like Good Vibrations’ offices.

featuring

HOLST: Jupiter from “The Planets” BRAHMS/SHENG: Black Swan STRAUSS: Thunder and Lightning Polka

In the year I first came out, 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in Bowers v. Hardwick, that LGBT people are not equal under the law, and therefore are not entitled to the same privacy protections in our bedrooms that heterosexual people are entitled to. And now, we have gotten to experience a major transformation, with the Court overturning Proposition 8, and DOMA, (continued on page 26)

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Brown Boi Project: www.brownboiproject.org Butch Voices: www.butchvoices.com Dyke Central: www.dykecentral.com Feelmore 510: www.feelmore510.com Good Vibrations: www.goodvibrations.com Laurel bookstore: www.laurelbookstore.com Saint Harridan: www.saintharridan.com Show & Tell: www.showandtelloakland.com

Margaret Galvin, Showroom Manager at Ergo Depot Design Studio at 245 Kansas Street, SF, demonstrates how thoughtful design and tech can improve our health and work. She’s in front of the ESI Edge-Combo monitor arm system. Galvin says, “It elevates both my laptop and my monitor. Having my monitor off the desk at eye level helps to relieve neck, shoulder and eye strain.”

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Childbirth Without the Doctor?

Real Estate America Foy Recently, a couple of web sites, Opendoor.com and openlistings.com, have gotten a lot of press. The premise of these sites is to take the agents out of the real estate business by providing f lat fee service to homebuyers and sellers. These companies are focused on the DIY section of the consumer market, wherein people think they can do it all themselves.

The consumer finds the home and then makes an offer. The offer gets accepted.

They pay a flat fee. We all live happily ever after? That’s not really the case.

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Because two-thirds of the entire residential market involves repeat buyers, it seems lots of folks forget what it was like when they bought their home in first place. Now, anyone who has had a baby can understand what I’m about to state: You forget how hard it is to do and decide you want to do it again. But

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state in which we work. Our licensing is governed by a multitude of state civil codes, and if we do make a mistake, we are held accountable.

Their belief is that the Internet is diminishing the role of the real estate agent by making it a lot easier to find homes, but commissions are getting out of control as they rise with the overall cost of real estate. However, the buyer does not pay a commission to their agent. Sellers pay the entire commission as a percentage of the sales price.

Commission is paid to listing agents and those agents split the commission with the buyer’s agent. We get paid to sell your house and doctors get paid to deliver your babies.

I sell a lot of real estate all over the Bay Area and am in a constant state of anxiety. I’m anxious because my clients, most of whom are part of the twothirds, are constantly in a state of anxiety themselves. No matter how many times they have bought or sold real estate, the experience is the same. There are always a million little variables that can sink a deal, or put thousands of dollars into jeopardy. That’s not even beginning to take into account all of the emotional turmoil and the “what ifs” that come into play when making one of the largest financial decisions of most people’s lives.

Now, you two-thirds, just think back to the last time you purchased or sold a home. Your experience might have been good or bad, but I guarantee you remember it as stressful and mysterious.

Your agent at the time did the best they could to get you what you wanted, but in the end you got what you got.

For those of you that have not bought or sold a home, the home selling process is filled with tiny pitfalls, emotional turmoil, and idiosyncrasies that could cost you thousands of dollars if you’re not properly represented. Agents get paid to be anxious for you and watch out for your best interests. In fact, we’re heavily regulated and licensed by the

Real Estate George Langford

understanding of how the market is performing. Even within San Francisco, we have micro-markets in which areas are performing differently than others. Go out and start looking for yourself during open houses in the areas you like. Visually see the activity at each property, and even follow the properties online to see what they end up selling for. This will help you to become an informed buyer and to make an educated decision when you decide to place an offer on a property.

Work with an agent.

It’s no secret that the San Francisco housing market is hot, hot, hot. Limited inventory and lots of competition leave buyers questioning, “What does it take for my offer to be accepted?”

Offer after offer, this market can begin to wear and tear on buyers emotionally and physically, with many hearing these famous last words from a Realtor: “So close this time, but the sellers accepted another offer.”

Fear no more! I have compiled some tactics that can help you to change your offer from “so close” to: “Congrats! They accepted your offer.” Some of these may seem obvious, but are all too often overlooked in the beginning stages of home buying.

Get pre-approved.

This should be done from day number one. Begin by having a conversation with a Bank or Mortgage Broker. In doing so, you will have a much clearer idea of what you can afford to purchase, and how much it will cost you to do so. Having an approval ready means that the moment you find the “perfect” home, you can pull the proverbial trigger and present an offer to the sellers.

Brush up on market trends.

Reach out to a local Realtor (like myself ), and begin to have a conversation about local trends. Get a better

When we get sick we don’t (or shouldn’t) diagnose ourselves; we seek out a professional. So why try and navigate the real estate market alone? Get in touch with an expert who is knowledgeable, is willing to offer unbiased advice, and who truly has your best interest at heart. Having an agent allows you to receive advice on local laws, rules and regulations. A great agent will also go the extra mile to learn about your wants, needs and your lifestyle. They should be asking you a ton of questions, and if they are not, it’s time to find a new agent. An agent should also be investigating the properties you like to learn everything they possibly can.

Not only does this help you decide if a property might be the right home, but also it is key when it comes time for negotiations.

Think outside of the box.

Being one step ahead of other buyers could mean the difference between a “yes” and a “no” from a seller. Consider these two factors: 1. Emotional Attraction- Even though money is a top priority for a seller, don’t be sidetracked completely by that fact. Selling a home is emotional as well, and sometimes there is a lot of attachment and history that goes along with the sale. Learn what that is for the seller, and let them know you will take care of the home and what your inten-

Visit the “Kiss for the Bay Times” photography exhibit currently on display at Sweet Inspiration, 2239 Market Street.

Open Tues, Wed, Thurs & Sun 8am-11pm; Fri & Sat 8am-12am.

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It may be a little extreme to equate buying and selling real estate without an agent to giving birth without a doctor, but they are both one of the biggest and costliest decisions most people will make in their entire lives. Why not get a little help?

America Foy is a top producing Bay Area real estate agent with Bay Sotheby’s International Realty. You can contact him with your questions or comments at americafoy@gmail.com Follow him on Twitter @americafoy, Facebook America Foy, and Instagram @americafoyrealtor

How to Win as a San Francisco Home Buyer in Today’s Market

At this month’s Make Contact networking event we will recognize the contributions of our women business owners and professionals during Women’s History Month!

Tuesday, March 10, 2015 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

this time you’re going to do it relying on advice from a website instead of a doctor. Does that sound like a fun and stress free experience?

tions are. Allow them to know about you as well. Sometimes, when your offer is very close to that of another prospective buyer(s), sellers will choose whom they want the house to go to based on how they feel about one particular buyer. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hear from a seller, “We want our home to go to someone who will continue to take care of it.”

2. Hidden Gems- 92% of buyers begin their search online and assume that what they see is all that is available for sale. As a realtor, we have access to what we call “Pocket” Listings, or “Off-Market” Listings. These are properties that could be coming onto the market soon, but just aren’t ready yet, or maybe the seller doesn’t want 100+ people trekking through their home on the weekends. Speak with your agent and ask if they have access to these listings. They can give you an advantage over other buyers at seeing a property first. In some cases, you could even purchase a property before it hits the open market!

What it all boils down to is finding an agent who will educate you and help you to implement these tactics, so you are armed with accurate information and a better understanding of the current market. In the end, you will then win at acquiring your dream home.

Keep in mind this equation: knowledge + street level insights + strategic negotiating skills = making an informed and educated decision that wins!

To get you started for now, please visit SFHomeBuyerGuide.com for my free homebuyer’s guide.

George Lang ford is a senior sales associate at CLIMB Real Estate group in San Francisco and is the founder of SevenSquaredSF.com Let his expertise guide you to your new home, or help you to get the best price for your current one. To contact George, please phone 415336-8191 or e-mail him at lang ford@ climbsf.com

Round About - Academy of Friends Gala 2015 Photos by Rink and Jim Norrena for Academy of Friends

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY RINK

“A Century of Radiance” was the theme of the 2015 Academy Awards Night Gala and HIV/AIDS Fundraiser for 2015. Produced by Academy of Friends, the Gala was held on Sunday, February 22, at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria. Attendees enjoyed the Oscar broadcast viewing party, silent auction, wine tastings and food samplings, live entertainment and dancing party. Beneficiaries for 2015 include AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Napa LGBTQ Connection, HIV Story Project, HIV Nightline, Huckleberry Youth Programs, Positive Resource Center and Project Open Hand.

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Round About - Nitey Awards 2015 Photos by Rink F REE S A N FR ANCISCO SEMIN AR

Life of Your Estate after Death: Probate and Trust Administration and Why Estate Planning Matters

The Nitey Awards, produced by the non-profit Site and Sound, recognizes excellence in creative content and patron experience in the nightlife industry. The 2015 awards show was presented on Monday, March 2, at the Regency Grand Ballroom in San Francisco with Renee Richardson and Liam Mayclem serving as hosts. Featured entertainers included Veronica Klaus, Gypsy Love, Ms. Leah Jackson and Caroline Lund. To review the 2015 winners in all categories, visit www. nightyawards.com

Speaker: Deb Kinney of Johnston, Kinney & Zulaica, LLP

Thursday, March 26, 6 -7:30 p.m.

Hospice by the Bay 180 Redwood St., Suite 350 • San Francisco Who decides what happens to your assets after your death and how does it work? Learn about choosing successor trustees and fiduciaries to implement your estate plan, and how to make choices to prepare for a smooth transfer of assets – large and small – to intended beneficiaries, limiting administrative hurdles, cost and heartache.

Attendees receive a complimentary estate planning organizer.

Reservations are required, register at

(415) 526.5580 or www.hbtb.org music

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Round About - REAF’s One Night Only

Sergio Ciomei, piano

Photos by Rink and others courtesy of the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation.

“One Night Only,” presented by REAF, was held at the Marines’ Memorial Theater on Monday, March 2, benfitting Broadway Cares/Equality Fights AIDS & the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation. Featured stars include the cast and company members of Disney’s Tony Award-winning musical NEWSIES, Bruce Vilanch, Sharon McNight and Shawn Ryan. Find out more about REAF at reaf.org

The beloved mezzo-soprano returns in a rare recital.

For the first time in the U.S., Bartoli sings from one of her most acclaimed albums, Sacrificium.

March 31 & April 2 ZELLERBACH HALL

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Round About - Keshet Purim Party Photos by Rink Keshet, an organization dedicated to working for the full equality of LGBT Jews in Jewish life, hosted a Purim Party on February 27, at 111 Minna Gallery. With “Gender Schmear” as the featured theme, the party included a costume contest, raffle prizes, refreshments and dancing with a live DJ. For more about Keshet, visit Keshet Bay Area on Facebook or http://www. keshetonline.org/work/sfbay/

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From a Couple to a Thrupple Roland Schembari and Bill Hartman Co-Founders in 1978 Kim Corsaro Publisher 1981-2011

2261 Market Street, No. 309 San Francisco CA 94114 Phone: 415-601-2113 525 Bellevue Avenue Oakland CA 94610 Phone: 510-504-9255 E-mail: editor@sfbaytimes.com www.sfbaytimes.com

Examined Life 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 100% LGBT funded and owned newspaper for the LGBT community in San Francisco.

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

Abby Zimberg Beth Greene Michael Zipkin Design & Production

Kate Laws Business Manager Robert Fuggiti Calendar Editor

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

Tom Moon, MFT Q: My husband and I have been together for eleven years. We were monogamous for three years, and then we transitioned to an open relationship, which has worked well for us. Now we’re trying something new. We’ve been dating a third guy for the last six months, and we’re all deeply in love with each other. My husband and I are seriously considering inviting him to move into our home and form a “thrupple” with us. We’re both a little scared about taking this step. We’re comfortable with an open relationship, but polyamory is unexplored territory for us. Some of my friends have given me dire warnings that this will destroy our marriage. Do you think this kind of arrangement can work in the long run?

A: The short answer is that every conceivable kind of relationship works for someone. While openly polyamorous relationships are relatively rare in our culture, some research suggests that private polyamorous arrangements within relationships are not all that uncommon. By some estimates, there are now roughly a half million polyamorous relationships in the U.S. Some sex researchers put the number even higher, at 4 to 5 percent of all adults, or 10 to 12 million people. In one survey of 3,574 married couples, for instance, 15–28% had an understanding that allows non-monogamy under some circumstances. The percentages were higher among cohabitating couples (28%), lesbian couples (29%) and gay male couples (65%). As usual, it is the lesbian and gay couples who were found to be the most open to exploring non-traditional arrangements.

There is some research on who can make sexual non-exclusivity work in relationships. In one study, the kind of person most able to thrive in nonmonogamy was described as “individualistic, an academic achiever, creative, nonconforming, stimulated by complexity and chaos, inventive, relatively unconventional and indifferent to what others said, concerned about his/her own personal values and ethical systems, and willing to take risks to

explore possibilities.” Another important character trait that advocates of polyamory often mention is the capacity for “compersion,” which is the ability to delight in the sexual/romantic joy that your partner experiences with another. Compersion is, in a sense, the opposite of jealousy, which is the dread that your partner’s happiness with another entails loss for you.

But can your specific arrangement work for you? I’m acquainted with several thrupples who seem to be able to make it work, including one trio who have been together for over sixteen years. But I should add that I’ve also known four gay male thrupples in the past few years where the arrangement ended disastrously for all involved. My impression, based on my admittedly limited experience, is that the parties involved weren’t prepared for the many challenges that such a relationship presents. They formed their relationships naively, expecting boundless sexual and romantic pleasure, only to find that maintaining the relationship was constant work. “It was polyagony!” one man told me. “We spent all our time processing.”

Maintaining any intimate relationship requires empathy and skill in communicating, and the more parties there are in the relationship, the more interpersonal challenges there are likely to

be, which means that maintaining it will demand rigorous honesty and interpersonal sensitivity, skill in expressing feelings, a commitment to listen attentively, an aptitude for negotiating agreements among conflicting parties, and a high capacity to tolerate differences in your partners’ character and temperaments. My impression is that people who are successful in thrupples don’t think of the experience of communication in their relationships as some kind of unpleasant, but necessary, chore, but rather find it inherently enjoyable, and derive personal satisfaction from working through difficulties and misunderstandings.

On another note: one difficulty you may face if you go forward and become a trio is that there is still a lot of stigma about polyamory. Even among your friends, you may find that, when difficulties arise in your relationship, some may assume that the thrupple itself is the cause, rather than the inevitable issues that arise in any relationship. For that reason, it might be helpful to seek out support from others in the polyamory community by doing a search for polyamory support groups in your area. One place to begin might be the polyamory.com forum. Good luck!

Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. For more information, please check out his website: tommoon.net

Jennifer Mullen Web Coordinator

equal unless everyone was. He knew that human rights were neither a privilege nor a gift. They were rights.

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CONTRIBUTORS Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Kirsten Kruse, Kate Kendell, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Dennis McMillan, Tom Moon, Terry Baum, Gypsy Love, Rafael Mandelman, Kit Kennedy, David Campos, Leslie Katz, Bill Lipsky, Karen Williams, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Marcy Adelman, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron Rebecca Kaplan, Thom Watson, America Foy, Philip Ruth, Courtney Lake, Michele Karlsberg Photographers Rink, Steven Underhill, Phyllis Costa, Cathy Blackstone, Robert Fuggiti, Chloe Jackman, Bill Wilson, Jo-Lynn Otto, Sandy Morris, Abby Zimberg

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Bayard Rustin: Undaunted Crusader for Civil Rights

Rainbow Honor Walk Dr. Bill Lipsky Bayard Rustin believed devoutly in the American ideal, the “self-evident” truths that all of us “are created equal” and endowed “with certain unalienable Rights,” including “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Working for civil rights and pushing for meaningful change, he devoted his life to narrowing the gap between that ideal and American social reality, first specifically for African-Americans, and then for members of the LGBT communities. He understood that equal rights, equal opportunity, and equality before the law were meaningless templates unless they applied to all.

Rustin was born in segregated West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1912. His great grandmother had been bought out of slavery by members of the Society of Friends, whose faith his then family embraced. “My activism,” he said, “did not spring from my being gay, or, for that matter, from my being black.” Rather, it was “rooted fundamentally in my Quaker upbringing and the values that were instilled in me by my grandparents who reared me.” Those values, he explained, “were based on the concept of a single human family and the belief that all members of the family are equal.”

Rustin said that because “the racial injustice that was present in this country during my youth was a challenge to my belief in the oneness of the human family,” he vowed early on to do whatever he could to bring equality to all. Still in high school, he campaigned against the Jim Crow laws in West Chester. In college, he became involved in the ongoing efforts to free nine African-Americans, known as the Scottsboro Boys, who had been wrongly accused of raping two white women on a freight train in 1931. He remained always passionately involved in the civil rights movement.

Rustin followed his moral compass throughout all of his life. A pacifist, he

was jailed for two years during World War II, when he not only refused to serve in the armed forces, but also refused even to register for the draft.

Sent to a high security federal prison in Pennsylvania, he organized protests against segregated seating in the dinning hall. “Both morally and practically,” he explained, “segregation is to me a basic injustice. Since I believe it to be so, I must attempt to remove it…

To accept it is to perpetuate it.”

Even under the most dire circumstances, Rustin kept to his faith. In 1947 he helped to plan, and took part in, the Journey of Reconciliation, which was the first Freedom Ride against segre-

Rustin met Walter Naegle by chance in New York’s Times Square in 1977, when Naegle was 27 and Rustin was 65. Even then their relationship was daring. “I’m gay, he’s black, and he’s older than you,” Naegle told his mother when he gave her the news. Openly known everywhere as a couple, their life together ended only with Rustin’s death a decade later.

Rustin knew that regaining rights for any repressed group benefitted everybody. In his later years, he melded the fight for racial civil rights with the emerging gay rights movement, personally calling for human rights for gays. He also admitted that simply asking for justice would not be enough.

In 1986, just a year before he died, he urged gay people to “recognize that we cannot fight for the rights of gays unless we are ready to fight for a new mood in the United States.”

gation in the South. Arrested in North Carolina, he was sentenced to work on a chain gang for thirty days. “It was a very harrowing and ugly experience,” he said later, but he never wavered in his beliefs.

After Rosa Parks’ arrest on December 1, 1955, for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, public bus to a white man, Martin Luther King, Jr., pastor of the local Baptist Church, decided to call for a boycott of the bus company until its buses became completely integrated. Rustin was sent to help organize the campaign. By the time it ended successfully, he had become King’s key advisor. Together they formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an organization committed to achieving civil rights through nonviolent action.

With his record as a master strategist, Rustin became the chief organizer of the watershed 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Some protested his role because Rustin was openly gay. “Martin Luther King,” he wrote later, “became very distressed when a number of the ministers working for him wanted him to dismiss me from his staff because of my homosexuality,” which he had never made a secret. King refused. In his greatness he knew that no one truly was free and

After 50 years of activism, Rustin clearly understood “the dynamic idea” of our time: “the quest for human dignity expressed in many ways—selfdetermination, freedom from bigotry, and equality of opportunity.” All attempts to deny our self-esteem and self-worth, from Jim Crow laws to homophobic discrimination to intolerance of immigrants, needed first to be resisted, then overcome. If nothing else, “When an individual is protesting society’s refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.”

Rustin, who always maintained his dignity, helped millions of people realize theirs as well.

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

David Perry oversees the Rainbow Honor Walk series. He is co-founder and cochair of the nonprofit R a inbow Honor Walk, which has created a landmark memorial in the Castro to heroes and heroines of the LGBT community.

He is also the CEO and Founder of Dav id Perr y & A ssociates, http://www.davidperry.com/

GLBT Fortnight in Review

By Ann Rostow I Get a Kick Out of You I was just reading about the fact that Psycholog y Today continues to run classified ads for conversion therapists, when I clicked onto a list of 12 methods that people once employed to cure homosexuality. My favorite was a technique recommended by 19th century physician Denslow Lewis, who advised women to battle their samesex attractions through the use of cocaine. Oh, I know that Downton Abbey is in the 20th century, but talk of this Dr. Lewis and his imaginative remedies reminds me that I read that Maggie Smith says the next season will be her last. I’m not sure that I can manage a season of Downton Abbey without the dowager countess, can you?

I was all set to be outraged by Psychology Today, but their advertising manager said that the magazine doesn’t pass judgment on this or that therapy as long as it’s legal and as long as the advertiser is not fraudulent. Well, I guess that makes sense, I thought.

Then again, conversion therapy is so destructive!

Finally, I decided I didn’t really care that much and I turned instead to the intriguing click bait on the side of the screen. One early de-gayer thought bike rides would help, while another sent men to prostitutes and advised them to drink heavily. I know, I know!

Nineteenth century conversion therapy sounds like a lot of fun.

It’s Magic!

Moving on, roughly two dozen protestors were arrested at the Idaho legislature March 2 during a demonstration to promote GLBT civil rights protections. Earlier this year, Spud State lawmakers considered and rejected adding sexual orientation and gender identity to statewide discrimination bans. But Monday’s protest seemed symbolic, since I don’t believe any particular measure was up for a vote.

By the way, I learned this by reading an article on MagicValley.com, where I was forced to answer a question in order to continue to the end of the piece.

The question was: Which superpower would you rather have, the ability to fly, or the ability to be invisible? I actually spent several minutes considering the two options.

If you could f ly, you might be very cold, depending on how high or how fast you went, and you might be shot down by a terrified witness. Particularly if you live in Texas, as I do. If you were invisible, however, it might be a very lonely sensation. I picked it anyway. I also wondered why the website would condition full access on such a random inquiry. And where the hell is Magic Valley? Some place in Idaho, I suppose. Just checked. It’s a region in Idaho.

What if you had a heart attack when you were invisible? Or what if you decided to fly only at night and you flew into some power wires? The disturbing possibilities mount.

Yet Another Marriage Deadline Ahead So, perhaps it’s time for a little marriage equality news. You should know that a federal judge in Nebraska just struck the Cornhusker marriage amendment as unconstitutional in a decision that takes effect March 9.

That means that state authorities will be off and running to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit for an extended hold on the ruling, and unlike the recent situations in Florida and Alabama, there’s reason to believe they may be successful.

Say what? Yes, yes, sad to say, but the Eighth Circuit might very well put a hold on Nebraska weddings simply

because the appellate court is smack dab in the middle of evaluating marriage equality for three other states under its jurisdiction; South Dakota, Arkansas, and I forget—but I’m pretty sure there’s one more. Missouri? (Yes, Missouri.) At any rate, it’s likely the court will simply add Nebraska to the ongoing litigation or, more likely, just make them wait until the matter is decided. After all, they’d look pretty silly allowing marriages to go ahead in one state, while they deliberated on the legal situation elsewhere as if it were an open question. At any rate, oral arguments in the Eighth Circuit are scheduled for May 11, although the High Court will render anything the Eighth Circuit does moot by late June.

Earlier this year by contrast, both Florida and Alabama failed to convince the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to postpone marriage equality in their states. Indeed, the Eleventh Circuit subsequently announced that it would put marriage litigation on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court takes action.

That seemed sensible to me. I can’t imagine why the Eighth Circuit is not deferring to higher authority as well, and I can only ascribe an egotistical motive to the court. They just want to put their stamp on the historical record.

One Lone Marriage for Lone Star State In other marriage news, there’s a complicated situation in Texas that would normally lead me to avoid the story completely, but as it turns out, this situation is in my own hometown so I have it figured out. And I can tell you all about it!

First, a county probate judge ruled in favor of a woman in an estate case, who was arguing that her common law marriage to the dead woman should be recognized for the purposes of inheritance. As part of the ruling, the judge said the state’s antigay marriage amendment was unconstitutional. Remember that this is a county judge, and recall as well that the Texas amendment was already struck by a federal judge and appealed to the Fifth Circuit. My point is that this county ruling should not have been a big deal.

However, this was not any county, but Travis County, the little blue circle in the center of Texas that you see surrounded by an ocean of red after every presidential election. Our county clerk has been itching to marry someone, but unfortunately, as she told the press, she could do nothing on the strength of this estate ruling. A few days later, another judge gave two women a Temporary Restraining Order, preventing the clerk from enforcing the marriage ban. The women, Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, have been together for over 30 years, and Goodfriend is fighting cancer.

With the waiting period waived, the women promptly got married, at which point newly elected Attorney General Ken Paxton begged the Texas Supreme Court to undo the marriage.

On that same day, February 19, the court put a hold on any future marriages, but that was not enough for Paxton, who on Friday the 20th asked the Texas court to void the Goodfriend/Bryant marriage.

I did not read Paxton’s 50-plus page brief on the subject, but one of his objections centered on the fact that his office was not notified in advance of a constitutional challenge. Normally, the AG’s office must be informed of such a challenge so that the office can contest the outcome. But, here’s the thing! Remember the estate case that started the ball rolling here? That judge did indeed inform the AG’s office, which replied at the time that it

Professional Services had no interest in getting involved with the case. So there.

Finally, I come to the most colorful aspect of this sidewinding trip down the back alleys of America’s journey towards marriage equality. One of our brand new rookie state legislators, a Tea Party representative from the Dallas area, has filed a complaint against the judge who issued the TRO on behalf of the two women.

This representative, Tony Tinderholt, scrawled the complaint in childish hand on a form, erroneously accusing Judge Wahlberg of issuing a constitutional judgment without informing the AG’s office. He then had his staff call the press, and wave the ridiculous “complaint” around as if it had merit. ( Judge Wahlberg’s TRO did not require any notification, and, as I mentioned earlier, the estate judge did indeed inform the AG’s office.) The last straw for the press, however, lay in the fact that the 40-something Tinderholt has himself been married five times. Yes, you read that correctly. In no time, Tinderholt’s irresistible combination of ineptitude and hypocrisy took flight, turning him from outraged champion of traditional values to media laughingstock.

(Scary footnote: Just a tiny bit of extra reading reveals the fact that Mr. Tinderholt is not simply a figure of fun.

He’s a xenophobic lunatic.)

Get Me Started My attention span is refusing to settle on the next topic for our review, and instead it bounces like a pinball from one shining light to the next pinging bell, interested in everything and nothing. How about the California lawyer who wants to qualify an initiative to make gay sex punishable by death? The guy is obviously seeking publicity. Why provide it?

Then there’s a reporter who went to the Conservative Political Action Conference, switched on his Grindr app and interviewed a bunch of gay guys, some closeted, some not. That was kinda cool. Emphasis on “kinda.” Next?

How about the big headlines claiming: “Gay rights activist faked his abduction?” Well, that sure sounds intriguing, except the “gay rights activist” is an obviously troubled 20-year-old boy, not an official “activist.” I’m not sure exactly what it means to be an activist, but when used in a headline, it should at least signify someone who organizes or leads gay rights demonstrations or political efforts. This fellow reportedly works for “Support Marriage Equality Ohio,” but I’ve never heard of such a group and can’t find it online. There is a Facebook page by that name. Maybe our hero helped with the page.

Joe Biden’s going to speak at the HRC dinner. Yawn. The California Republican Party has decided to recognize the (gay GOP) Log Cabin Club. Are we supposed to stand and applaud?

There was a nice article in the New York Times about the first lesbian chaplain of the New York Fire Department. Go read it, by all means!

Oh. And here’s a strange little reflection on our GLBT community. A group in Florida has written a cease and desist letter to an organization in California that was planning an Easter event called “Cathedral City Gay Days.” Turns out the Florida party company, Gay Days Inc., owns the trademark to the expression “Gay Days,” and won’t let anyone else use it.

C’mon guys! The California organizers were forced to change their title to “Cathedral City LGBT Days,” which, let’s face it, does not roll off the tongue.

I mean, really. What’s next? Trademarks on “Pride Parade,” “Pride Fest,” “Gay Parade,” and “Rainbow (continued on page 26)

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BAY T IM ES M ARC H 5, 2015

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To Love Is Not to Possess

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Weddings Howard Steiermann The Sound of Music movie was near and dear to my heart, even before I spent a college semester abroad in Salzburg, Austria. The school I attended was located in the carriage house of the grand home used for exterior shots in the movie. We studied, and partied, in the gazebo used in the movie. These memories allowed my smile to be even broader while Lady Gaga sang her “Sound of Music” medley during this year’s Oscars.

was started, in part, to formalize property rights. And, even today, couples deal with the practical, i.e., tax and legal, implications of marriage. However, I prefer focusing on the heartfelt part of marriage. I see marriage as a coming together of equals. Each partner brings his or her strengths and weaknesses, which hopefully the other will complement (and compliment!).

Last month I wrote about the transformative power of ritual. I believe that rituals, such as weddings, have a direct effect on our lives. We are transformed, because we feel differently about ourselves and others see us differently as well. Rituals can enrich our lives. In egalitarian relationships, both parties are enriched, not just one or the other. I don’t see marriage as a way to restrict one’s life, but as a way to expand it and strengthen each participant’s sense of groundedness. I believe this was captured beautifully in the poem

I’ve seen the movie countless times, but it was this year that I was really struck by the outdated dialogue when Maria sang to her eldest charge, Liesl, in “Sixteen Going on Seventeen (Reprise)”: “Gone are your old ideas of life, the old ideas grow dim. Lo and behold you’re someone’s wife and you belong to him.”

Ignoring the heteronormative lyrics, I am troubled with the idea that, after marriage, one belongs to their spouse. Yes, the origin of marriage

“To Love Is Not to Possess” by James Kavanaugh (see below).

Returning to the wisdom found in The Sound of Music, Maria said that the Reverend Mother taught that “you have to look for your life.”

When I was single, I knew that I couldn’t just wait in my living room for Mr. Right to ring my doorbell and introduce himself. I needed to engage with the world, to do things I enjoyed doing irrespective of the possibility of meeting a potential date.

So, let me conclude with some famous lyrics sung by the Reverend Mother to Maria: “Climb every mountain, search high and low, follow every byway, every path you know. Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, ‘till you f ind your dream.” And the stanza seemingly written about ma r r iages: “A dream that will need all the love you can give, every day of your life for as long as you live.”

Congratulations to Howard from the San Francisco Bay Times!

To love is not to possess, To own or imprison, Nor to lose one’s self in another.

Love is to join and separate, To walk alone and together, To find a laughing freedom That lonely isolation does not permit.

It is finally to be able To be who we really are No longer clinging in childish dependency Nor docilely living separate lives in silence, It is to be perfectly one’s self

And perfectly joined in permanent commitment To another–and to one’s inner self.

Love only endures when it moves like waves, Receding and returning gently or passionately, Or moving lovingly like the tide In the moon’s own predictable harmony, Because finally, despite a child’s scars Or an adult’s deepest wounds, They are openly free to be Who they really are–and always secretly were, In the very core of their being Where true and lasting love can alone abide.

–James Kavanaugh

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Howard M. Steiermann is an Ordained Ritual Facilitator based in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.

SFHoward.com

SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN'S CHORUS

DR. TIMOTHY SEELIG, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Featuring the San Francisco premiere of

Jake Heggie’s For a Look or a Touch in collaboration with San Francisco Opera, American Conservatory Theater, and Contemporary Jewish Museum

APRIL 1 + 2 » 8 P.M. DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL TICKETS » SFGMC.ORG

with guest artists Morgan Smith + Kip Niven and the world premiere of

#twitterlieder: 15 Tweets in 3 Acts

SEASON 37 SPONSORED BY THE OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF SFGMC

BAY T IM ES M ARC H 5, 2015

19

Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun

By Sister Dana Van Iquity Sister Dana sez, “Happy St. Patrick’s Day! But on March 17th, if you happen to spy a tiny green leprechaun smoking a wee pipe and carrying a pot of gold - you’ve had way too much green beer and whiskey - so go home and sleep it off!”

Hi simply hi from Tinseltown North from your intrepid Oscar reportress Sister Dana! Everyone who knows me knew that I was rooting for the deliciously quirky Birdman as best pic, director, original screenplay, cinematography - and it won all four! Deservedly. Best-adapted screenplay about gay World War II cryptography hero Alan Turing in Imitation Game won - but the biopic failed to have a gay storyline. WRONG! How awesome was Lady Gaga doing a tribute to

Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music?! And what better way to view the Oscars but the ACADEMY OF FRIENDS’ 35th annual gala, A CENTURY OF RADIANCE, at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria! Through their annual Academy Awards Night Gala, they have raised over $8,690,000 to support more than 73 HIV/AIDS service organizations in the Bay Area. This year’s beneficiaries were AIDS Legal Referral Panel, HIV/AIDS Nightline, HI V Stor y Project, Huckleberr y Youth Programs, LGBTQ Connection, Project Open Hand, and Positive Resource Center. Guests walked a red carpet and posed with a wax figure of Oscar host, proudly openly gay Neil Patrick Harris, greeted by various rotating, living, bigger than life, gold-painted Oscar statues.

My only criticism of the venue was a lack of comfy couches. Three were not enough. What I love about AoF Gala is that we don’t have to watch commercials. Instead we learn important facts about AoF and hear from board members such as Board Chair Gil Padia, Vice Chair Matthew Denckla, Secretary Todd Creel, Treasurer Beth Feingold, Gala Chair Amanda Watson, and Board Member, Past Chair Howard

Callejas Edelman. The gala included lively performances of “Santa Fe” and “Carry the Banner” by the cast of Disney’s Newsies and live interpretative dances by choreographer Patrik Gallineaux and others ornately dressed as angels and devils.

What a fabulous night!

SF OASIS & EXHIBIT Q presented BALONEY, San Francisco’s Gay All-Male Revue choreographed

by Rory Davis and directed by Michael Phillis at Club Oasis. The world premiere show starred Rory Davis, James Arthur M., Adam Roy, Shaun Mullen, Moe Arikat, Alex Steinhaus, Tim Wingert & Aaron Sarazan, hosted by Michael Phillis. Inspired by vintage male erotica, this immersive cabaretstyle performance featured sweaty, sexy, scantily-clad men in action. It got so hot, they had to call for the air conditioning man - who only made it hotter, if ya know what I mean. Then an island boy warmed himself in the hot sun by a palm tree, spilling cold beer down his bare chest and rubbing suntan lotion in. Two schoolboys were in Sex Ed to learn about the new changes in their bodies, and were almost late for their wrestling class overseen by their hunky coach. Then we

were in ye Old West with a couple of cowpokes poking each other. Giddyup!

Mardi Gras came early this year, but San Francisco’s K REWE DE K INQU E was ready to let the GOOD TIMES ROLL for our annual FAT TUESDAY PARTY BUS/ BAR CRAWL. Members and friends of Krewe de Kinque enjoyed authentic Southern Comfort Hurricanes & Big Easy Cocktails at five fabulous San Francisco bars. Krewe de Kinque K ing Gary Virginia hosted the bus. Munchies, beads, and booze were on board the Party Bus. Joining us were the newly elected Emperor Kevin Lisle & Empress Khmera Rouge as well as the outgoing Krewe de Kinque King XI Joseph Nunez & Queen XI L’il Kim Chee. We started with the Welcome Party at Lookout in the Castro; boarded the SoCo Party Bus for the Peace, Love & Comfort Party at Trax on Haight Street; then the Fat Tuesday Party with SF Carnaval entertaining at Balançoire in the Mission; Party on Polk Street at the world famous Cinch bar; and lastly the Ashes to Ashes Finale at the Edge in the Castro with a live N’awlins show featuring KdK royalty K ing X K ippy Marks, King VII John Weber, and Queen

VIII Garza. Proceeds benefited our BAL MASQUE XII on March 14th at Balançoire, which benefits Housing Rights Committee of SF. FULL MOON OVER SHANGHAI is the title of the masked ball, Saturday, March 14th, 6pm - 10pm, Balançoire, 2565 Mission & 22nd Street. The event features complimentary New Orleans Original Southern Comfort cocktails & Asian/Cajun buffet and more. For tix and info: sfkinque. com, (415) 867-5004, or just ask KdK Queen VII Sister Dana.

IRENE SODERBERG came up from L.A. to S.F for her SASSY B R A S S Y B L O N DE T OU R at Martuni’s, with Jimmy Strano on sound. Soderberg has been singing off and on in EssEff since 1987. She treated us to many of her hits, including “Gonna Live, Live, Live Until I Die,” the Mama Cass “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Can’t Give You Anything But Love;” but when the main show was over, we “family” fans gathered around the piano to hear her sing off-color lyrics to “Hard Hearted Hannah,” “Let’s Talk Dirty to the Animals,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “When You’re Good to Mama,” and “Nowadays” - both from Chicago. Delightful! irenesoderberg.com Cookie Dough (Eddie Bell) lived much too short a life, November 8, 1963-January 29, 2015, but it was a fabulous life, so the community presented her CELEBR ATION OF LIFE at Victoria Theater, hosted by Heklina, Peaches Christ, Sister Roma, BeBe Sweetbriar, Fernando Ventura, and Greg Sherrell; with speakers including Roxy-Cotten Candy, Marga Gomez, David Campos, Nancy French, Pollo Del Mar, and Otter Renck; performers included Bay Area Flash Mob, House of Glitter, Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, Erik Batz, Matthew Martin, UPhoria, Laundra Tyme, Sugah Betes, Sue Casa, Tom Shaw, Joe Wicht, Daft-nee Gesuntheit, Glitterella, Adrian Roberts, Beatrix “Trixie” Carr, Manuel Caneri, Dina Isis, Becky Motorlodge, and Ethel Merman. And we Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence sainted Cookie. We absolutely adore you, Cookie!!!

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter answered a question concerning military service by transgender people, saying, “I don’t think anything but their suitability for service should preclude them.” Right on! The American Military Partner Association, the nation’s largest organization of LGBT military families, responded to the statement with a call to action urging the Secretary to quickly order the long awaited review of outdated regulations that prevent the estimated 15,500 transgender service members currently in uniform from serving openly and honestly. Additionally, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, “The President agrees with the sentiment that all Americans who are qualified to serve should be able to serve.” Progress!!!

CUMMING UP! T H R I L L PEDDL E R S presents JEWELS OF PARIS: A Revolutionary New Musical Revue, March 12th - May 2nd, (Thursdays, Fridays, Saturday - 8pm) at The Hypnodrome, 575 10th Street. Original Music and Lyrics by Scrumbly Koldewyn; Additional lyrics by Martin Worman, Rob Keefe and Alex Kinney; Book by Scrumbly Koldewyn, Rob Keefe, Alex Kinney and Andy Wenger; Directed by Russell Blackwood; Choreography

by Noah Haydon. This is a celebration of Paris in song and spectacle, inspired by the artistic revolution erupting (continued on page 26)

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#KateClinton2015 Flicker fun outing for LGBTQ Mystery Science Theater fans: meet up with your pals at Fifty Shades of Gray.

Hoot, howl and heckle.

Arts & Entertainment Why Whitman and SFGMC?

Tim Seelig, SFGMC Artistic Director & Conductor, and Steve Huffines, Composer

This spring, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus presents “Passion” on April 1 & 2 at Davies Symphony Hall.

“Passion” features three stunning premieres that span three centuries, from Walt Whitman and Mark Twain to World War II to Tweets!

As Artistic Director Dr. Tim Seelig began to put the program together for these momentous concerts, he received a piece set to a Walt Whitman text from one of the singing members.

He was immediately drawn to it and responded with enthusiasm. Another

came his way and, ultimately, a song cycle of five pieces. He immediately shared it with a group of singing members, and they too fell in love. At that point, the decision was made to include them on the Spring, 2015 concert.

Below is an interview between Dr. Seelig and Steve Huffines, the composer of “My Friend, My Lover: Five Walt Whitman Songs.”

Tim Seelig: Steve, why did you choose Walt Whitman texts for your songs?

PHOTO © GARETH GOOCH

JOAN BOWLEN PHOTOGRAPHY

(right) Walt Whitman (1819-1892) and Peter Doyle; (far right) Walt Whitman, age 35, from the frontispiece to Leaves of Grass, Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. Steel engraving by Samuel Hollyer from a lost daguerreotype by Gabriel Harrison.

Steve Huffines: Because he’s the best! He’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest American poet. And he was gay.

the hopes, the fears of gay men—all are remarkably unchanged. Poetry that perceptive and timeless is great poetry.

Tim Seelig: What do you make of those who doubt his orientation?

Tim Seelig: Can you give us examples of how the Whitman texts you chose to set to music speak to modern gay men?

Steve Huffines: People resist acknowledging he was gay, mostly because he was very macho: a man’s man. But his poems about gay sex are so explicit they were labeled pornographic! He also wrote explicit letters about lovers and tricks. He was photographed nude by Thomas Eakins.

He played around with Oscar Wilde.

He even gave his long-term partner a ring. So it’s pretty clear he was gay. What I love most is that he was completely unapologetic about it, even though times were very different then.

Tim Seelig: What makes Whitman the best gay poet in your opinion?

Steve Huffines: Whitman speaks very directly to 21st Century gay men. His texts are still as relevant today as the day he wrote them in the late 1800s. That’s really astonishing considering that these poems were written long before Stonewall, before the sexual revolution, before Sigmund Freud, and even before the invention of the word “homosexuality.” But while society was very different then, Whitman’s poems demonstrate that the longings, the anxieties,

Steve Huffines: Are You the New Person Drawn Toward Me? could easily be about a gym crush, turning someone into your fantasy rather than seeing them for who they really are. Native Moments sounds like someone out on the prowl for a hookup, maybe cruising on Grindr. We Two Boys Together Clinging is pure fun, like two guys on a cross-country motorcycle road trip living only for each other and laughing at anyone who expects them to conform. My favorite text is City of Friends, because it really describes what the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus is all about.

Tim Seelig: Ot her t han t he “gay” factor, what drew you to these texts?

Steve Huffines: Whitman’s poems have great characters, great drama and storytelling. They cry out to be songs, especially songs for a gay men’s chorus. He was hugely sexual and revolutionary. He was always rebelling against social conventions— particularly about sex and sexuality.

Who wouldn’t want to set the line “I share the midnight orgies of young

men” for a gay men’s chorus? It’s pure Whitman.

Tim Seelig: Did you change any of the texts from Leaves of Grass?

Steve Huf f ines: I would never dare. Whitman enthusiasts would have my head on a plate! The truth is that Whitman revised his poems frequently, and sometimes dramatically, over the course of his life. So we have multiple versions of many of them. My favorites—some of which I set (to music)—are the initial drafts in his own handwriting, before any publisher or self-editing got in the way.

They are often much more directly homoerotic than the later, published editions.

Tim Seelig: What is it you hope for with these songs? What do you want to accomplish with them?

Steve Huffines: I would love for both the Chorus and the audience to walk away with a greater appreciation for the immense life-affirming joy in these Walt Whitman’s poems.

Other than that, a laugh or two, and send them out humming.

For more information about the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and their upcoming concerts “Passion” on April 1 & 2 at Davies Symphony Hall, please visit www. sfgmc.org BAY T IM ES M ARC H 5, 2015

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Superb Futuro Beach Captures the Eroticism and Emotions of Its Characters

Film Gary M. Kramer Karim Aïnouz’s superb new film, Futuro Beach, opening March 13, is a stunning drama about a hunky Brazilian lifeguard, Donato (Wagner Moura), who bonds—both emotionally and in the naked, physical sense—with Konrad (Clements Schick), who is grieving over the loss of a drowned friend. After Donato visits Konrad in Germany, their relationship deepens and changes. Things change even more when Ayrton ( Jesuita Barboso), Donato’s younger brother, takes over the narrative in the film’s third act.

Aïnouz’s deliberately elliptical style of storytelling captures the ebb and flow of its characters’ erotic and emotional currents, which is what makes this hypnotic, although sometimes inscrutable, film so mesmerizing.

I recently spoke with Aïnouz via Skype about his film.

Gary M. Kramer: What prompted you to tell this story?

Karim Aïnouz: I wanted to talk about sexual diaspora, and how it triggers other things. Donato decides to leave everything behind. I come from a generation where lots of friends left where they came from to be who they really were. And I wanted to show the consequences of that, to depict this impulse of reinvention, especially when it’s more of an existential feeling.

Frame 123

Gary M. Kramer: Why did you take the approach you did with the story, where viewers are forced to fill in the blanks?

*

*

Karim Aïnouz: Donato is a [lifeguard] who is sitting in his tower, waiting for something to happen. And 98% of the time, nothing happens.

He’s constantly watching the horizon and wondering what’s behind it. I flirt with the adventure novel narrative

and create chapters, like in a book, so there is a lot of drama.

When I started to make this f ilm, it was my wish to take risks like the characters take risks. Sometimes contemporary narratives tell you everything. I thought you should fill in the blanks so you have to answer the question: Why does he do that? I had to build an ellipsis because cinema can’t answer that. Predictability is the most un-sexy thing in the world.

The ellipsis helps that, [as does] the change of tone with the Aryton story.

I wanted to do something with range.

The construction was to avoid predictability, and keep surprise. The adventure narrative was important— you don’t know where you are being taken. It’s thrilling.

It’s hard to make indie films and nonEnglish language films. Some films have big success and important issues, but there are no risks, no experimenting. I was thinking of Kenneth Anger, the queer wave of films of the 1990s.

That’s why there are chapters; we need to make the spectator more active.

Gary M. Kramer: What can you say about the elements in the film—earth and the bodies of water—that ref lect and represent the characters?

Karim Aïnouz: I thought of Donato as a lonely character who is in his element in the water; he is floating alone.

But for him, the sea is also a frontier, a border. With Konrad, it is speed and danger; he is earth. Konrad is always at the edge.

Gary M. Kramer: What can you say about the bodies of men in the f ilm—naked, exercising, having sex, etc. You film them very artfully.

Karim Aïnouz: I wanted to show how we relate to one another in a physical way. The physical experience as a primary experience, not

psychological affection. Many relationships are so physical they are not about talking. The affection is displayed physically. It was important to go very extreme.

I wanted to do a hyper masculine movie after my earlier films, Madame Sata and Suely in the Sky (aka Love for Sale). Here I wanted to enter a different space—one of physical strength, and bodies. How do you portray masculinity and masculine sensibility in contemporary cinema? There were female characters in the film, but I cut them out in editing. How do we get that masculine sensation? I wanted it to be hypnotic. The film presents a family of men, with shifting roles. I don’t know who is playing what role, but there was an affection between those men.

Gary M. Kramer: How did you work with the actors on their roles?

Karim Aïnouz: Clements comes from the art world and he has done theater, but has made only a few films.

Wagner has been a successful actor in Brazil and Jesuita was very fresh, very young. I chose them because of those things—their energy and their faces. We spent 10–14 days rehearsing, but not doing scene rehearsals.

We used the action of the scenes, not the dialogue, so they could recognize the space. It was like a dance rehearsal, not a theater rehearsal; they came to know the physical triggers, not the psychological ones. The actors, therefore, could find the intimacy when we started shooting. There were not many lines of dialogue. The actors remember their lines because they remember the situation of the scene; they remembered the intimacy. © 2015 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

PHOTO BY TONY JASINSKI

Ice Hockey Gets Hot

Sports Tony Jasinski In downtown San Francisco, there are warriors in our community who play tough hockey once a week. Behind and on top of Moscone Center, there is an ice rink (across from a small bowling alley), and it houses adult hockey leagues f ive nights a week. On Thursdays, the gay-oriented San Francisco Earthquakes play in their 8-team league, and the team has 15 players.

I went to a recent game, and felt privileged to join the team in the locker 22

BAY TIMES M ARC H 5 , 2 0 1 5

room prior to their game. I found a room full of men, and one woman, who had an enthusiasm for the game that I had never seen before. Team members Drew and Dan said in the locker room that they were both new to skating, but that it was “very fun” and “required commitment.”

There were smiles throughout the room, and there was even a supportive straight guy who was going to play goalie for the team that night. He was on loan from another team for that evening to replace a missing player.

The players take 20 minutes each just to get dressed, and that is rushed!

They have chest pads, shoulder pads, leg pads, shin guards, face masks (or shields), crotch cups, mouth guards, hockey socks (which go on the outside of the leg pads and shin guards) and more. Deer hair used to be used for padding, due to the way the material absorbed shocks, however, it has since been replaced with more high-tech materials. There are also skates to be laced up, and they each need their own ‘stick.’ (continued on page 26)

Accept the Transient Nature of Everything ARIES (March 21–April 19) It’s time to take your show on the road. Creative ideas are funneling through you like water in a sieve, with each stream carrying seeds of possibilities. These promising expressions of your personal vision will mature with time, and nourish you for years to come.

Astrology Linda Amburgey Have you ever noticed that the things we long for make us a bit sad or melancholy when we actual have them?

Jason Silva passionately expresses this in his video Existential Bummer. Although we can land on the prize of our desire, some part of us knows it will disappear, like a mouthful of cotton candy, as fast as it appeared. We can either shrink from life in the delusion of protecting ourselves from being slain by loss, or we can accept the transient nature of everything, letting our ecstasy morph into tragedy, and our catastrophes awaken us to those essential parts of our awareness that can never be lost. Consider the distinction between having something and experiencing something.

TAURUS (April 20–May 20) Creation has many phases. Avoid the temptations to grab the remote control and fastforward this current stage of suspension. Pent up energy may have you swinging your sword in vain, which only serves to frustrate you more.

The quality of maturation is proportional to the quality of gestation

CANCER ( June 21–July 22) A rush of movement carrying you with the force of a landslide brings to light the futility of over-investing yourself in the illusion of stability. As you are sliding down the hill, have faith in the cycle of life and know that you will take shape again soon.

LEO ( July 23–August 22) Have no more disappearing acts in your relationship matters. Let the guarantee of your personal emancipation unshackle your voice until it authentically speaks your heart’s truth. Consequences will be mixed and unavoidable, while the release and liberation will be profound.

.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) All your recent hard work in your primary relationships has left you standing on a wealth of wisdom that now serves to support your untethered exploration of how to create the right livelihood. Taking a few social risks plants you in the vortex of co-journeyers who inspire your quest.

VIRGO (August 23–September 22) Trying to stabilize your sense of home is worth the effort, however, there is an equally compelling hunger to be lost in love. With sword in hand, fiercely forge your way through the mysterious terrain until the right balance finds its way to you.

LIBR A (September 23– October 22) Plunge into your relationships head first, but without thinking. Playing with fire requires you to relinquish safely guarded, undomesticated aspects of your otherwise courteous and accommodating nature.

SCORPIO (October 23– November 21) Every creative risk taken, and every liberating truth spoken, elevates your self-worth spiritually and monetarily. The immeasurable possibilities will populate your universe so abundantly that you will feast for years to come.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22–December 21) There is a longing running through your veins like a deep subterranean river searching for sunlight to warm its current. Rest, if you can, in the depths of your true home, and realize this longing is only met from within your own presence.

CAPRICORN (December 22–January 19) Remember

the Zen Koan, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one’s around to hear it, does it still make a sound?” While your attention is tuned inward and following your inner voice through poppy fields of Oz, your musings are meant for your ears only. Attempts to direct your voice outward will be like a deceased spirit struggling to communicate with the living.

AQUARIUS ( January 20– February 18) Your altruistic views are more visibly expressed and received in your community only when you accept and validate the current social contracts that bind the rest of humanity. Start by validating your own, more traditional, desires.

Sometimes you have to be in the system to change the system.

PISCES (February 19–March 20) With the rest of the herd temporarily longing in the way you signed up for in this life, you are bound to feel companioned and understood. This may temporarily challenge your identity of feeling lost, alone, and wanting. Ground your craft by taking mundane steps, and you will finally be paid.

Linda Amburgey has owned Crystal Way Metaphysical Center for 11 years, and has been an Intuitive Reader for 20 years.

To book readings, on-going counseling for couples or individuals, events and parties, please e-mail her at ConsciousCounsel@gmail.com or call 415-218-5096.

As Heard on the Street . . .

What type of business would you like to see move into the Castro?

compiled by Rink

Randi Reed

Linda Rothfield

Mara Berde

Jeffrey Lilly

Andrea Pressman

“A good lesbian bar, with food and music, and more community for everyone.”

“A Headlines type store, a lesbian bar, and an inexpensive place to eat.”

“A lesbian bar.”

“A new GLBTQ bookstore on Castro Street.”

“A lesbian nail salon.”

Steven Underhill

PHOTOGRAPHY

415 370 7152

WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

stevenunderhill.com · stevenunderhillphotos@gmail.com BAY T IM ES M ARC H 5, 2015

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See many more Calendar items @ www.sfbaytimes.com

PHOTO BY VLAD BUTSKY

compiled by Robert Fuggiti

Chinese New Year Parade, Saturday, March 7

• 5 : T HURSDAY

Support Discussion Group – The Pacific Center. Free. 1:30 pm.

(2712 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley) Find support and like-minded wonderful people during this discussion group for aging lesbian women. www.pacificcenter.org

• 6 : F RIDAY

• 7 : S ATURDAY

Some Thing All Stars – The Stud. $10. 10 pm. (399 9th St.) A special night of all star drag performances.www.studsf.com

Sunday in the Park with George – Lohman Theatre. $12$32. 7:30 pm. (12345 El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills) Foothill Music Theatre presents the Pulitzer Prizedance

hit about a family struggling to stay together at a time when they need to the most. Extended through March 8! www.auroratheatre.org

Planet Booty Benefit – Slim’s. $13. 6 pm to 9 pm. (333 11th St.) A dance party benefit for the Homeless Youth Alliance of San Francisco. www.homelessyouthalliance.org

Tree – San Francisco Playhouse. $20+. 7 pm. (450 Post St.) A story of love and betrayal, with three generations that twist and grow in astonishing ways. Through March 7. www.sfplayhouse.com

music

winning Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. Through March 8. www.foothillmusic.com

The Lyons – Aurora Theatre Company. $30+. 8 pm. (2081 Addison St.) A hilarious Broadway

theater

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• 9 : M ONDAY

Z ELL E R B A C H H A L L

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• 8 : S UNDAY

Ellen Robinson – Piedmont Piano Company. $20. 4 pm. (1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland) Enjoy a special performance with jazz vocalist Ellen Robinson and pianist Debbie Poryers. www.piedmontpiano.com

March 31 & April 2

BAY TIMES M ARC H 5 , 2 0 1 5

2015 Chinese New Year Parade – Chinatown. Free. 5:15 pm. (Chinatown, San Francisco) Celebrate the Chinese New Year with one of the largest parades of its kind outside of Asia. www.chineseparade.com

Adrienne Torf – Kassman Fine Pianos. Reservation required. 5 pm to 6 pm. (843 Gilman St., Berkeley) Enjoy the music of astounding composer/pianist Adrienne Torf. russell@rkassman.com

The beloved mezzo-soprano returns in a rare recital.

For the first time in the U.S., Bartoli sings from one of her most acclaimed albums, Sacrificium.

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream – A.C.T. Free. 2 pm. (415 Geary St.) Enjoy a free show and great theater during this family-friendly production. www.act-sf.org

2015 International Women’s Day – Parliament Bar and Lounge.

Free. 11 am. (811 Washington St., Oakland) Celebrate International Women’s Day at this family friendly event. Lunch will be provided. www. devtacircle.org

Sergio Ciomei,

calperformances.org 510.642.9988

Spitroast – The Eagle. $5. 9 pm.

(398 12th St.)DJ Riley Patrick returns for another Spitroast party! www.sf-eagle.com

Season Sponsor:

Letters to Afar – The Contemporary Jewish Museum. $12. 11 am. (736 Mission St.) A rare glimpse of history that re-contextualizes the experiences of Jewish immigrants from the U.S. who visited their hometowns in Poland during the 1920-30s. www.thecjm.org

LGBT Sangha – SF LGBT Center. Free. 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

(1800 Market St.) All are welcome to join for a mindful meditation and spiritual practice. www.sfcenter.org Opulence – Beaux. Free. 9 pm.

(2344 Market St.) A hip-hop night with happy hour drink specials all night long. www.beauxsf.com

• 10 : T UESDAY

March Make Contact – Recology. Free for GGBA members. $30 for guests. (900 7th St.) Connect with LGBT and allied business professionals during GGBA’s signature monthly networking event. www.ggba.com Newsies – Orpheum Theater. $179. 8 pm. (1192 Market St.) The true story of New York’s newsboys who made their living hawking papers, but in the face of rising prices and poor wages, started to make the headlines themselves.

Through March 15. www.san-francisco-theater.com GLBT Caregiver – SFSU Campus. Free. 1:30 pm. (1600 Holloway St.) A support group to discuss issues among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s. www.sfsu.edu

• 11 : W EDNESDAY

Castro Farmer’s Market Opening – Noe & Market Street.

Free. 5 pm. (Noe and Market St.) Enjoy the grand opening of this season’s Castro Farmer’s Market. www.pcfma.com Queer Salsa Dancing – Beatbox. Free. 8 pm. (314 11th St.) Latin City Nights presents a queer salsa dance. www.beatboxsf.com Wednesday Matinee – Openhouse. Free. 2 pm. (225 30th St.) Enjoy an evening of LGBTthemed films every 2nd Wednesday. www.openhouse-sf.org

• 12 : T HURSDAY

CAAMFest 2015 Opening Night Gala – Asian Art Museum.

9:30 pm. $40. (200 Larkin St.) Enjoy an opening Night Gala at the spectacular Asian Art Museum. www.caamfest.com Intro to Opera – San Francisco Opera. Free. 6:30 pm. (301 Van Ness Ave.) A fun and entertaining introduction to the world of opera.

RSVP required. www.sfopera.com Sex and the City Live – Oasis. $25. 7 pm. (298 11th St.) A drag send-up of Sex and the City, live! www.sfoasis.com

• 13 : F RIDAY

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown – Berkeley Playhouse. $20+. 6 pm. (2640 College Ave., Berkeley) The two-time Tony Awardwinning musical comes to Berkeley Playhouse. Through March 15. www.berkeleyplahouse.org Cubcake – Lonestar. Free. 9 pm.

(1354 Harrison St.) A monthly bear dance party on second Fridays. www.lonestarsf.com Fever – Endup. $20. 10 pm to 10 am. (401 6th St.) An all night dance party with guest DJs. www.theendup.com

• 14 : S ATURDAY

Rachel Garlin – Viracocha. $18.

8 pm. (998 Valenica St.) Singersongwriter Rachel Garlin performs live with a full band. www.rachelgarlin.com Hills to Hollers – Freight and Salvage. $26. 8 pm. (2020 Addison St., Berkeley) Featuring Barbara Higbie/Linda Tillery and Laurie Lewis with Josh Hari acoustic bass. www.frieghtandsalvage.org 2015 Mardi Gras Party – Balançoire. $20-$500. 7 pm to 10 pm. (2565 Mission St.) Enjoy the 2015 celebration with live DJs, auctions and live tableaux show! www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/1256758

• 15 : S UNDAY

Speed Rack 4 – Public Works.

Free. 3 pm. (161 Eerie St.) An all female bartending competition with proceeds benefitting breast cancer research. www.publicsf.com “Pants, The Musical” Fundraiser – Graceland Girls Project. Donation. 2 pm. (Location given provided RSVP) 415-8615762.

Les Miserables – Fox Theatre. $47-$69. 2 pm. (2221 Broadway St.) This epic musical has captured the hearts of millions! March 6-22. www.foxrwc.showare.com

• 16 : M ONDAY

Karaoke Night – Toad Hall.

Free. 8 pm. (4146 18th St.) Sing your heart out on stage at Toad Hall’s weekly karaoke night. www.toadhallbar.com

pcfma.com/castro

1.800.949.FARM

fb.com/castrofarmersmarket

DESIGN : LOGOMAN : logomantotherescue.com

Drag Queen Game Show – Oasis. $5 donation. 9 pm. (298 11th St.) 6 queens compete to win in this outrageous game show style competition. www.sfoasis.com

LGBTQ Support Group – Petaluma Health Center. Free. 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. (1179 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma) A positive support group for the LGBTQ community in Petaluma. www.phealthcenter.org

• 17 : T UESDAY

Poetry and Jazz Series – Top of the Mark. Free. 6:30 pm. (999 California St.) The Top of the Mark partners with Beats Museum for a spectacular mix of poetry and jazz in this new weekly series. www.intercontinentalmarkhopkins. com LGBT Roller Disco – Church 8. $10. 7 pm to 10 pm. (554 Fillmore St.) An LGBT roller skating disco happening every Tuesday.

415-752-1967

Our Faculty Info: cje.edu/womenscamp Registration: cje.edu/womensreg

Dream Queens Revue – Aunt Charlie’s Lounge. Free. 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm. (133 Turk St.) A fabulous drag show you won’t wan to miss! www.dreamqueensrevue.com

• 18 : W EDNESDAY “Sup Girl” Comedy – Café Royale. Free. 8 pm. (800 Post St.) Featuring the best in female standup comedy. www.facebook.com/supgirlcomedy

Blue Stockings Women Writers Circle – Books Inc. Free. 7 pm. (2275 Market St.) Join us for a women’s writing circle.

415-939-6475. www.booksinc.net

100% Black CIIS: URW Clarendon T, Regular, 38.75/46.5pt (kern 10pt) PUBLIC PROGRAMS: URW Clarendon T, Regular,26.75/40pt (kern 10pt) URL: No url on logo, place on bottom of page

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100% White CIIS: URW Clarendon T, Regular, 38.75/46.5pt (kern 10pt) PUBLIC PROGRAMS: URW Clarendon T, Regular,26.75/40pt (kern 10pt) URL: No url on logo, place on bottom of page

SF CIVIC CENTER BAY T IM ES M ARC H 5, 2015

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BECK (continued from page 4) API Sisters (and now Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women and Transgender Community), Trikone (for South Asian LGBT people of all genders), and the A/PI Wellness Center, which has been a safe haven for many Asian and Pacific Islander people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds seeking assistance with health issues including HIV/AIDS prevention and support.

I’ve long been an admirer of API Family Pride, an organization for parents, families, and friends of LGBT Asian and Pacific Islanders, and “Song That Radio,” a San Jose-based Vietnamese language LGBT radio program that has been broadcasting for over a decade (quite amazing, really). I’m a newer supporter of API Equality, which does work statewide to advocate for fairness and equality in the Asian and Pacific Islander LGBT community. And, of course, we have organizations from other parts of the country, like the Dari Project based in New York to build a website resource for families and relatives of LGBT Koreans, APLBTN—a national network of Asian and Pacific Islander LGBT women’s groups from many different states—and NQAPIA, the National Queer Asian and Pacific Islander Alliance. I’m sure there are others I am missing, or forgetting, who have made huge contributions toward building an LGBT Asian and Pacific Islander community across the country.

San Francisco Bay Times: Do you think that the LGBT com-

munity, in general, needs to do a better job at improving diversity? What steps might be taken so that people from all cultures and backgrounds feel welcome and appropriately represented?

Alma Soongi Beck: I think every community can do a better job at improving diversity, not just the LGBT community. In some ways, the LGBT community has some advantages in being able to think about diversity.

For instance, as a statistical minority even in San Francisco, LGBT people involved with LGBT organizations or community activities may f ind it difficult to purposely or inadvertently avoid people of different races and class backgrounds. Conversely, among straight folks, it’s actually quite easy for people who stay in their own neighborhoods to completely avoid people of other races or class backgrounds for extended periods of time. This is rarely the case for LGBT organizations, gatherings, or community events. It makes the daily perspective of LGBT folks broader and more comfortable around other diversities.

Also, as an oppressed group, LGBT people have at least some understanding of what it is like to be closeted, discriminated against, and mistreated, which also makes it easier to empathize and recognize when we are not being as inclusive as we should. So, after spending many years facilitating diversity programs for non-profits, companies, and LGBT organizations,

I would say that the biggest challenge to improving diversity is probably our defensiveness. The LGBT community is particularly good at defensiveness, for good reason, as a way to cope and manage homophobia, heterosexism, and gender oppression. However, defensiveness is a double-edged sword, and gets in our way of improving diversity awareness in our own community. It usually looks something like, “I can’t be racist (or classist, or transphobic), because I’m gay.” There are other versions of this that LGBT folks may experience from genderconforming straight people, like, “I can’t be homophobic (or transphobic), because I’m a woman.”

crappy and critical, but really, when people raise these issues, they are offering a gift of information that you do not ordinarily have access to. I would suggest practicing responses that encourage dialogue rather than shutting it down. Instead of “I can’t be transphobic because I’m a lesbian,” perhaps an alternative might be an apology, and then asking for more information. “I’m so sorry. I’m not sure what I did. Would you be willing to explain more?” You will certainly learn something important that will improve how you handle things in the future, and will improve your relationships across diverse communities.

I would probably add on the flip side, when we notice oppressions against us, to f igure out how to articulate what we notice as kindly and gently as we can, no matter how frustrated and upset we might be about it. We really want others to be able to hear our important feedback and information, and we do not (always) need to be harsh or mean about it. I mean, sometimes we do need to be loud and obnoxious about it, but probably less so that most of us feel.

The main issue with diversity is that dominant groups mostly cannot see how we are oppressive. That’s how it works. In a room of mostly white LGBT folks, the white folks will have a hard time seeing racism. In a room of mostly middle class folks, the middle class people will have a hard time seeing classism. A lesbian might be able to catch the homophobia and sexism, but might completely miss the gender oppression of the trans people, and might even inadvertently (or purposely) be promoting and encouraging transphobia.

San Francisco Bay Times: Your success is phenomenal and you are an incredible role model for many. What advice would you give to other women who may be struggling with issues of gender inequality now? As Patricia Arquette said at the Oscars the other night, “It’s time for women. Equal means equal.” Do you

For this reason, my main suggestion is to be open to what might feel like criticism and attack. If someone is “complaining” to you about the lack of diversity, they are likely telling you something that you just would never learn about otherwise. It might feel

ROSTOW (continued from page 13) Days?” And what’s with trademark craziness these days anyway? Did I not see taciturn running back Marshawn Lynch trademark the line he likes to use at press conferences: “I’m just here so I won’t be fined?” Who would want to repeat that? How can you trademark a remark?

And how about the chutzpah of Katy Perry trying to trademark “Left Shark?” For those of you who missed it, Katy Perry was part of the Super

Alma Soongi Beck: Thank you for your kind words. I love that Patricia Arquette used her privilege to say something so publicly at one of the most-watched venues in the world to raise the issue of equal pay for women.

I also realize she has come under criticism as well for sounding like she was oversimplifying sexism in a way that sounded like it cannot be separated from other oppressions.

So at the risk of sounding like I’m oversimplifying, I would say to other women, don’t believe the negative messages in your head. Those are meant to distract you from the important issues in your life and in society.

You are beautiful, and do not need to alter your body or your face. You are brilliant, so trust your mind, and surround yourself with other people who believe in your mind and can remind you. Please control and stop the inclination you might feel to criticize and bring down other women, any other women, no matter how much you feel like you hate them. Focus on what you admire and want to support in them, and it will come back to you a hundred-fold. And don’t be afraid to fail, and don’t let this fear paralyze you.

Some of the most successful people in the world have had to go through glorious failures on their way toward their successes.

KAPLAN continued from page 7) Bowl halftime show, and, for part of her act, she danced and sang between two costumed blue and white sharks.

Then at one point (stay with me here) the left shark started dancing a little off beat and looked really adorable.

During the following week, “Left Shark” became an Internet meme.

And a meme in general, I’d say. I remember, for example, an hysterical “Shouts and Murmurs” column in The New Yorker, written from Left Shark’s

SISTER DANA (continued from page 20) in Paris nearly a century ago. Jewels of Paris is a tuneful, time-traveling testament that revels in love, life, artistic, social, and sexual change - seen through the eyes and ears of Parisian luminaries including Pierrot, Picasso, Cocteau, Josephine Baker, and even Marie Antoinette. hypnodrome.org

think we’re on the right track toward reaching equality in the workplace?

BAY AREA LAWYERS FOR INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM (BALIF) is the nation’s oldest and largest association of LGBT persons in the field of law. Founded in 1980, BALIF represents its members’ interests in the wider San Francisco Bay Area. BALIF members and supporters include San Francisco Bay Area judges, lawyers, law students and legal workers.

standpoint. But although Katy Perry may have been the star of the Super Bowl show, she had nothing whatsoever to do with Left Shark’s unique charm. The idea that she or anyone, for that matter, should be able to own this concept, this feeling, this leftsharkness, is profoundly wrong! And it all feels so grasping and greedy and childish. I don’t know about you, but I recoil from it.

and affirming marriage equality and the humanity of LGBT people.

It is worth celebrating our progress and supporting our local entrepreneurs, while also continuing the work that remains to be done. Our LGBT community, especially our youth, continue to suffer disproportionately from homelessness and bullying. As many LGBT people, including the transgender community, continue to struggle with employment discrimination and

arostow@aol.com

& COURAGE presents “KISS MY BLARNEY STONE!: A St. Patrick’s Benefit for Tenderloin Tessie holiday dinners for the disadvantaged, Saturday, March 14th, 3-6pm, The Edge bar, 4149 18th Street.

The ANNUAL GALA: Celebrating 35 Years is on March 13th, 7-11pm, Terra Gallery, 511 Harrison Street.

It’s one of the most popular BALIF events of the year. Many public officials attend the gala. Past attendees have included legislators, mayors, district attorneys, labor commissioners, and other public officials, in addition to over 600 members of the community. balif.org

SEX AND THE CITY LIVE is a delightful drag send-up of TV’s SEX A ND THE CIT Y live on stage!

Show features Sue Casa (Carrie Bradshaw), D’A rcy Drollinger (Samantha Jones), Lady Bear (Miranda Hobbs), and Steven LeMay (Charlotte York). Directed by D’Arcy

Grand Duke 36 Patrick Noonan, in conjunction with THE FIERY HOUSE OF CHARM, CANDY

violence, we can harness the steps we have taken to continue to build a more respectful and inclusive community.

Rebecca Kaplan has a long history of working for fairness, justice and progress, and is the first out lesbian ever to hold elected office in Oakland. Elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012 as councilmember at-large, she represents all of Oakland. Her colleagues elected her as Vice Mayor in 2015.

Drollinger at Oasis, 298 11th Street @ Folsom, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, 7pm, March 5th-28th, (415) -795-3180, boxoffice@sfoasis.com Sister Dana sez, “Beware the Ides of March! The Ides of March is a day on the Roman calendar corresponding to March 15th. It became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, dramatized in Shakespeare’s play ‘Julius Caesar,’ when Caesar is warned by the soothsayer to ‘eware the Ides of March.’ So beware already!”

JASINSKI (continued from page 22)

PHOTO BY TONY JASINSKI

9:30pm, and 11pm. One of the two referees was a woman, and I was told that most teams had at least one woman player, with no special distinctions or rules about that. I also noted that this was a racially diverse group.

Goalies wear even more protection.

One player said he had to replace his skates about once a year. Lots of effort must go into ensuring a complete and comfortable outfit, and it isn’t too cheap either. Players pay about $400 each to participate in a 16-game regular season, along with some playoff games.

The games consist of three fifteenminute periods. Games are at 8pm, 26

BAY TIMES M ARC H 5 , 2 0 1 5

The Earthquakes tied their opponents, the Puckheads in this case, after one period at 1–1. However, it became 5–1 against the ‘Quakes by the end of the game. I noted that there was no yelling at the referees during the game, which is very unusual by basketball standards, but I heard that the refs do sometimes get grief from the players. There was also one altercation during the game, but it was more of a simple standoff than anything else. Substitutions don’t stop the clock, and the Puckheads rotated players at blazing speeds. It was dizzying just to watch all of the player swapping!

The game was very entertaining to watch, as the puck never seems to stop, and the action is quite smooth.

The players have moments when they are working very, very hard. It is exciting to see their speed and agility.

The current captain of the Earthquakes is a former Canadian, Eric Schuettinger, who is clearly enthusiastic about his teammates, and they are tied for third place three-quarters through the season. This same team won the bronze medal in Cleveland’s recent Gay Games, and they received a note of support for their Gaymes efforts from Nancy Pelosi.

The team regularly goes to tournaments, from June to October, in Vancouver, Montreal, or Toronto, and also to Chicago (new this year), L.A., Boston, and New York. The Quakes won the Boston Beanpot Classic two years ago.

If you or a friend has an interest in the sport, check out www.sfquakes.com/ Tony Jasinski is the former president of the San Francisco Gay Basketball League.

Round About - Kiss for the Bay Times Exhibit Reception

GGBA Make Contact Event

PHOTO BY STEVEN UNDERHILL PHOTO BY PHYLLIS COSTA PHOTO BY PHYLLIS COSTA

PHOTO BY PHYLLIS COSTA

PHOTO BY PHYLLIS COSTA

PHOTO BY PHYLLIS COSTA

PHOTO BY STEVEN UNDERHILL

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY STEVEN UNDERHILL

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY PHYLLIS COSTA

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY STEVEN UNDERHILL

PHOTO BY STEVEN UNDERHILL

An opening reception for the “Kiss for the Bay Times” photo exhibit was held on Valentine’s Day at Sweet Inspiration in the Castro. Featuring photos by San Francisco Bay Times photographers Phyllis Costa, Becky Gladding, Zachary Irwin, Chloe Jackman, RINK and Abby Zimberg, the exhibit includes images of individuals and groups kissing - couples, friends, parents and children, dog owners and more. The photos were taken along Market Street during the SF Pride Parade 2014 as the SF Bay Times contingent progressed along the Parade route. The exhibit is installed at Sweet Inspiration, 2239 Market Street, and can be viewed daily during business hours: 8:00am - 11:00pm (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday) and 8:00am - 12:00am (Friday and Saturday).

Photos by Paul Margolis

GGBA’s monthly Make Contact event provides a networking opportunity to meet LGBT and allied business professionals. In February, the event, sponsored by AsiaSF and Abri Hotel, was held at AsiaSF and featured service by the club’s famous staff.

Known as the Ladies of AsiaSF, the talented team of entertainers performs daily atop the red dragon runway bar.

The March Make Contact will be held on Tuesday, March 10, 6:00pm - 8:00pm at Recology, 900 7th Street in San Francisco.

Event sponsors for March are Recology, ellaprint, OutSmart and Sullivan-Botello Events. For more information, visit www.ggba.com

BAY T IM ES M ARC H 5, 2015

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Kiss for the Bay Times photography exhibit

featuring images by San Francisco Bay Times photographers

STEVEN UNDERHILL PHOTOGRAPHY STEVENUNDERHILL.COM

CHLOE JACKMAN PHOTOGRAPHY