SGN May 29, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Issue 22 Volume 48

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Seattle Gay News S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY

LARRY KRAMER DIES AT 84 “One of America’s most valuable troublemakers.”

– Susan Sontag

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Larry Kramer, whose take-no-prisoners rhetoric defined the early period of AIDS activism, died May 27. He was 84.

From Larry Kramer in Love and Anger – Photo courtesy of HBO

see KRAMER page 11

Marriage equality in Costa Rica

4th Circuit Court hears Trans restroom appeal

Photo by Juan Carlos Ulate / Reuters

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Costa Rica saw its first same-sex marriages on May 26, as the result of a court ruling that limitations on marriage rights were unconstitutional.

A lesbian couple, Daritza Araya and Alexandra Qu Castillo, became the first to be married in a ceremony that took place just after the new law came into effect at midnight. Their wedding was broadcast on national TV.

see COSTA RICA page 7

Gavin Grimm – Photo by Kristen Zeis / AP

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals heard a key Transgender rights case on May 26, setting the stage for a ruling on how school districts must accommodate Trans students.

Gavin Grimm – at the time a high school student in the Gloucester County, Virginia, school district – informed school authorities of his gender identity and asked them to accommodate him under Title IX of the Education Act amendments, adopted in 1975.

see GRIMM page 5

Still Here, Still Queer!

Still available in Seattle area, or online www.sgn.org

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May 29, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Seattle Gay News F O U N D E D 1974 MEMBER

2018

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Deadlines Classifieds | Thursday at Noon Calendar | Tuesday at 6pm Display Ads Space Reservation | Monday at 5pm Ad Copy (non-camera ready) | Tuesday at 5pm Ad Copy (camera-ready) | Wednesday at 5pm Letters to the Editor | Tuesday at 5pm Obituaries | Call the SGN office All others | Tuesday at 5pm

Editor in Chief George Bakan Copy Editor Rick McKinnon (since Dec 2013) Advertising George Bakan • Maggie Bloodstone MK Scott National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Staff Writers Mike Andrew • Sara Michelle Fetters Miryam Gordon • Albert Rodriguez Contributing Writers Rev. Barbara Allen • Ron Anders Madelyn Arnold • Alice Bloch Maggie Bloodstone • Beau Burriola Sharon Cumberland • Jessica Davis Tina Gianoulis • Anthony Greer Milton W. Hamlin • Nevin Jefferson Richard Kennedy • Shaun Knittel Liz Meyer • Jason A. Miller Jesse Monteagudo David Nguyen aka Teriyaki Temple Rod Parke • Don Paulson Jerry Peerson • Tim Peter • Jessica Price Scott Rice • Leslie Robinson MK Scott • Mark Segal • Gaysha Starr Sarah Toce • Paul Torres • Janice Van Cleve Ed Walsh • James Whitely Scott Wittet • Rex Wockner Cartoonist

8th annual City of Seattle Pride Flag Raising Ceremony to be live streamed June 1

Ken Campbell Calendar Editor Rick McKinnon Classifieds Rick McKinnon Photographers Nate Gowdy • Joseph P. Herron MK Scott • James Whitely Production Mike Pham Website Designer Barry Thorsness / Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published by Frogs and Ink, Inc. © 2018. Frogs and Ink, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprints by permission.

Publication of names, photographs, or likeness of any person, organization, event or business in this publication cannot be taken as any indication of the sexual orientation of the person, organization, event or business.

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In Loving Memory Of Steve Foiles • Scott Roger Alpert Cookie Andrews-Hunt James Leland Moore Randy Peters • Lee Richeson Shaun Shelton • Jim Tully James Arnold

Photo courtesy of the City of Seattle Office of the Mayor

In keeping with Public Health – Seattle & King County and Washington State Department of Health recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, you are invited to watch a live stream broadcast of the City of Seattle’s annual Pride Flag Raising Ceremony this year presented by Mayor Jenny Durkan and the Seattle LGBTQ Commission [https://www.seattlechannel.org/] The City of Seattle will use a live stream

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platform broadcast on the Seattle Channel and virtually via Microsoft Live Team Events. [https://www.facebook.com/seattlelgbtq/] Guest speakers include: Mayor Jenny Durkan, City of Seattle Commissioners, Justice Helen Whitener, Mariko Lockhart – Director for Seattle Office for Civil Rights, and other community speakers and performers.

Log in will open starting at 3:30pm for the virtual waiting room. Live stream will start by 3:45pm and will conclude with the flag-raising between 5 and 5:10pm. Please join us as you are able.

May 29, 2020

Seattle Gay News 3

Courtesy of Seattle LGBTQ Commission

White Center Pride presents virtual flag raising ceremony Saturday, June 6 On Saturday June 6 at 6pm, a flag symbolizing both pride and progress will soar over Seattle’s southernmost border. The raising of the Progress Pride Flag commemorates the second year of Pride in White Center, where a strong LGBTQIA+ community has recently emerged.

Although the White Center Pride Committee has rescheduled all in-person events from the traditional month of June to October 2020 (due to the impact from COVID19), this event will be an opportunity for our community to virtually and safely “gather” to celebrate Pride as we raise the flag.

The virtual event will feature a live stream along with prerecorded messages from speakers, including King County

Council Member Joe McDermott, and performances by local drag queens Cookie Couture and Old Witch. We hope that many will join in celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community alongside the wonderful people who live here.

The event information can be found on the organization’s Facebook page: Pride Flag Raising Ceremony in White Center (VIRTUAL) – https://www.facebook.com/ events/614730769131844/ www.whitecenterpride.org.

Courtesy of White Center Pride Committee Photo courtesy of White Center Pride

SGN EXCLUSIVE:

Questions for Ann Collier, MD on her latest study on a COVID-19 treatment

by MK Scott SGN Contributing Writer As we announced last week, Dr. Ann Collier, well known AIDS researcher and Director of the UW AIDS Clinical Trials Unit is heading up a new study for a potential COVID-19 treatment. I had a chance to chat with Dr. Collier via email earlier this week.

MK Scott: Please refresh our readers on your background?

Dr. Ann Collier: I am a doctor, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington, and Director of the UW AIDS Clinical Trials Unit. I have been involved with the care of people living with HIV and clinical research to improve treatment of HIV for over 30 years.

MK: You just launched a new study for a COVID-19 treatment. Can you briefly explain this study?

DC: This national study compares a combination of 2 medicines to 2 inactive “look-alike” (placebo) pills. The visits for this study are done by telephone. Participants are adults (with or without HIV) with mild COVID-19 symptoms who were diagnosed by nasal swab collected within the past 96 hours. The medicine is taken for 7 days; it is a combination of low dose hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin.

There has been a lot of social media controversy about this combination based upon “observational” studies of hospitalized persons. There is still no FDA-approved treatment for COVID-19 and we need rigorous clinical trials to help us identify safe and effective treatments. It is also important to know that this study was designed with a lot of safeguards, including dose of the medication and excluding people at risk for side effects. Participants are asked to keep a simple diary about their symptoms for 20 days. Reimbursement is $50 at day 20.

MK: You are known as an AIDS researcher. Can you explain the difference between the HIV virus vs the coronavirus?

DC: HIV and coronaviruses are members of different virus “families”. Both are RNA viruses. HIV is a retrovirus. The virus that causes COVID-19 is called SARSCoV-2. It is a member of the coronavirus family. Other differences include the types of cells that these viruses infect (enter) and the way these viruses enter human cells.

MK: What are your hopes for the study?

Dr. Ann Collier – Photo courtesy of UW Medicine

DC: My main hope is that this study will generate valuable and valid information about whether this combination of medicines and low dose of hydroxychloroquine is safe and effective for treatment of mild COVID-19.

MK: What have been the challenges so far?

DC: One major challenge is that the visits are being done by phone. This creates lots of new issues, including about how to provide informed consent via phone, how to confirm who the participant is, how to deliver the study medicine, how to collect the study diary, and provide the study reimbursement. The news about results of observational studies in hospitalized patients have led many people to think this combination has toxicity and decreased interest in studies of hydroxychloroquine. In addition, there is a short window of opportunity for people to join the study. They must enroll within 96 hours of the swab collection that shows they have COVID-19. I am proud that our team was able to screen, enroll, and deliver the first participant’s study medication to them all in one day.

MK: I have heard rumors that PReP (Truvada) has helped in decreasing the risk to COVID-19. Do you think that is possible?

DC: There are multiple medications that have been shown in the test tube to suppress SARS-CO-V2, and Truvada, the first medicine to be used as PrEP, is not one. The one anti-HIV medicine (antiretroviral) that is being studied for treatment of COVID-19 is the protease inhibitor lopinavir boosted by ritonavir. It has the trade name Kaletra®, and consists of two medicines in one pill.

MK: How long do you think the social distancing will last?

DC: There is a lot of variability across the state and the U.S. Sorry, I don’t have a crystal ball.

MK: Nursing homes are experiencing the most cases. How can they maintain safety?

DC: Important actions include the testing of staff, frequent hand washing with soap for at least 20 seconds, keeping residents apart by closing common areas, excluding visitors with symptoms of COVID-19, and the wearing of masks by occupants, staff, and visitors.

Many nursing homes have banned visitors and encourage communication via Facebook, Zoom, Facetime, or other electronic tools.

If you test positive for COVID-19 and would like to participate in this study, please call or text 206-773-7129 or email actu@uw.edu.

NOTE: PLEASE CONTINUE TO BE SAFE. Wear a face mask when out in public. Maintain 6 feet social distance when possible. Wash hands with soap and hot water for 20 seconds. https://www.cdc.gov/ handwashing/index.html.

If you’re feeling sick, stay home. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, a cough, fever, or trouble breathing, contact your health care provider before going to a medical facility. If you have an emergency, call 911.

Washington State COVID-19 Hotline: 800-525-0127; Washington State Crisis Connection: 866-4-CRISIS (866-427-4747).

MK Scott is a Seattle-based blogger and publisher of Uniteseattlemag.com

Visit us online at www.sgn.org 4 Seattle Gay News

May 29, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

GRIMM

continued from cover Title IX bars sex discrimination in schools funded in whole or in part by federal money, which includes almost all public schools in the US. Under Obama administration rules, which were in effect while Grimm attended high school, this required schools to protect gender identity.

Grimm’s high school, however, barred him from using the boys’ restroom. He complained and, when school authorities did not remedy the situation, sued the school district in 2015.

A US District Court judge ruled last

year that the school had illegally discriminated against Grimm. The school district appealed, requiring the appellate hearing on May 26.

During oral arguments, which were held virtually before a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit, the school district’s attorney claimed that the district accommodated Grimm’s gender identity in every way – except for the use of an appropriate restroom.

The school “always treated Gavin Grimm with respect,” said the school board attorney, David Corrigan, calling him by his proper name and using gender-appropriate pronouns.

“The school board and the school administration and everybody associated with the

schools supported the transition of Gavin Grimm. The sole issue is the restroom.”

Corrigan argued that because Grimm had not had sex-reassignment surgery, he remained a female anatomically.

“Our position is it’s a binary concept, that you have males and females,” Corrigan added.

Joshua Block, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Grimm, said requiring Grimm to use female bathrooms or the unisex bathroom was stigmatizing and humiliating.

The bathroom policy’s only purpose, Block said, was to remove Grimm from the boys’ bathroom and “place him in separate alternative facilities no other student was

required to use.”

“These separate facilities were not merely different, they were unequal,” Block said, adding later, “It’s stigmatizing to be excluded from the facilities that everyone else uses.”

While questioning the lawyers, Judge James A. Wynn Jr. compared the bathroom setup to separate but equal schools that were found to be unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education.

“That’s like saying a black school is open to anybody… but you never had a white student go to one of those schools during separate but equal,” Wynn said.

The judges did not indicate Tuesday when they would issue a ruling.

Murray, Schumer, Pelosi, Pallone issue joint statement on the Trump administration’s disappointing national testing strategy report WASHINGTON, DC (May 26, 2020) – Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the US Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor & Pensions, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement after the Trump administration submitted a new report to Congress outlining its national testing strategy: “After six months and nearly 100,000 lives lost, the Trump administration still

does not have a serious plan for increasing testing to stop the spread of the virus.

“This disappointing report confirms that President Trump’s national testing strategy is to deny the truth that there aren’t enough tests and supplies, reject responsibility, and dump the burden onto the states.

“In this document, the Trump administration again attempts to paint a rosy picture about testing while experts continue to warn the country is far short of what we need. We still need clear explanations for how targets were set, how they will be met, and what will be done if they are not.

The Trump administration still does not take any responsibility for ramping up our nation’s testing capacity, instead pushing the burden onto the states – forcing states to compete with each other to procure vital supplies to administer tests from the private market.

“To reopen our economy safely, we need testing to be free, accurate, reliable, and accompanied by tools like contact tracing so we can slow the spread of the virus and prevent outbreaks. Sen. McConnell must stop obstructing the House-passed HEROES Act, which would deliver a clear

strategy and $75 billion for the testing and contact tracing necessary to stop the spread of this vicious virus.

“We will continue to hold the president’s feet to the fire, and we are going to push Republicans in Congress to join us in demanding the accountability, transparency, action, and leadership the American people deserve from their president.”

Courtesy of Sen. Patty Murray

Out Leadership launches “Proudly Resilient,” a monthlong virtual global platform of 2020 Pride events NEW YORK (May 27, 2020) – Out Leadership, the oldest and largest coalition of global companies working to advance LGBT+ equality in the world, announced the release of the full calendar of events that make up “Proudly Resilient,” the first-ever monthlong, global Pride celebration, with 70+ speakers and 45+ events across the month.

Each event is dedicated to supporting one of more than 20 LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations in the US and around the world, through its content and audience reach.

Out Leadership founder and CEO Todd Sears said, “This year, the 50th anniversary of the first Pride parade and celebrations, should have been another historic year following Stonewall 50. Instead, hundreds of Pride events around the world were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so many of the nonprofits [that] Out Leadership has supported the past 10 years are in dire straits. Through Proudly Resilient, Out Leadership is leveraging the global platform and convening power we’ve built around the world to help our community come together – virtually – to celebrate our resilience and rich history, to protect the progress we’ve made, and most importantly to educate and inspire leaders to continue the global fight [for] full equality.”

For the first time in its ten-year history, and to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Pride events, Out Leadership is making its event programming completely free and open to the public. Ordinarily access to Out Leadership events in the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia is by invitation only for the leaders and clients of its 82 member firms.

Out Leadership’s Chris Frederick, managing director of global events and former executive director of New York Pride, who

organized the history-making WorldPride/ Stonewall 50 events in New York City in 2019, said, “We knew Pride this year was going to be different. But we had no idea just how different it would be, particularly following 2019. Creating Proudly Resilient, a unique monthlong series of events, gave us an opportunity to work with our deep bench of CEOs, leaders, and advocates, as well as with nonprofit and community partners to support and amplify their work at this unprecedented and challenging time. We look forward to having LGBTQ+ community and our allies join us in these diverse conversations of the opportunities and challenges we face in our workplaces and communities, and how we can work together to continue to advance LGBTQ+ equality.”

Proudly Resilient by Out Leadership includes conversations with LGBT+ pioneers and thought-leaders, including: Jason Collins, former NBA player; Nancy Lieberman, former WNBA player; Billy Bean, former MLB player; Greg Louganis, Olympian and LGBT cctivist’ Jerry Mitchell, award-winning Broadway choreographer/producer; Rev. Stan J. Sloan, executive director, Family Equality Center; Amit Paley, CEO, The Trevor Project; Rob Smith, founder, The Phluid Project; Peter Staley, co-founder, The PrEP4All

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Collaboration; David Mixner, civil rights activist and author; Jim Obergefell, civil rights activist, plaintiff in Obergefell v.

Hodges; Rufus Gifford, former ambassador to Denmark; Hedda Lettuce, drag artist; Kate Kendall, former executive director, National Center for Lesbian Rights; Nadine Smith, executive director, Equality Florida; Marti Cummings, drag artist; Jocelyn Samuels, executive director, Williams Institute; Dawn Hough, director, ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, Australia; Tamara Adrián, lawmaker in the National Assembly of Venezuela; Anna Brown, CEO, Equality Australia; Evan Wolfson, founder, Freedom to Marry; Alberto de Belaunde, member of Parliament, Peru.

Check out the full speaker line-up and schedule [at https://proudlyresilient.com/ events/].

LGBT non-profit organizations from across the globe have partnered with Out Leadership to help make Proudly Resilient a success. These include: • United States: Lambda Legal, Ali Forney Center (Harlem NYC), Start Out, Out & Equal, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Freedom for All Americans Education Fund, Gender and Family Project, Trevor Project, Family Equality Council, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, PFLAG, the NYC LGBT Center, The Williams Institute, Athlete Ally, GMHC (End AIDS, Live Life) • Europe: Stonewall UK, Human Dignity Trust • Asia: Community Business, Being LGBTI in Asia • Australia: Pride in Diversity “This is no time to slow down. In the face of crisis and uncertainty, we won’t

stop highlighting the innovation, compassion, and resilience inherent in the global LGBT+ equality movement,” said Sears.

“I hope you join us this June, and that our programming inspires you to join global movement Out Leadership has created. We welcome any organizations [that] wish to support our work and this platform to join us, as well as encourage any organization who wishes to include their Pride events in the platform to reach out.”

May 29, 2020

Seattle Gay News 5

Founded 10 years ago, Out Leadership is the oldest and largest global LGBT+ business advisory that partners with the world’s most influential companies to build business opportunities, cultivate talent, and drive LGBT equality forward. It believes that LGBT+ inclusion positively impacts business results, and that including LGBT+ people at the most senior level of executive leadership builds business. It calls this idea Return on Equality™.

Comprising 79 global member firms and dedicated to cross-industry collaboration, Out Leadership is a certified B corporation. Out Leadership convenes CEOs, business leaders, and allies at exclusive invitation-only events across four continents. Out Leadership also operates three talent initiatives: Quorum, which aims to increase LGBT+ representation on corporate boards; OutNEXT, the first global talent development program for emerging LGBT+ leaders; and OutWOMEN, connecting senior-level LGBT+ women in business.

Courtesy of Out Leadership

Procter & Gamble and GLAAD study: Exposure to LGBTQ representation in media and advertising leads to greater acceptance of the LGBTQ community NEW YORK (May 27, 2020) - GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today announced findings of the “LGBTQ Inclusion in Advertising and Media” study, conducted in partnership with Procter & Gamble (P&G), the world’s largest advertiser.

GLAAD and P&G’s study details how non-LGBTQ Americans respond to TV, films, and ads featuring LGBTQ representation. Results demonstrate high comfortability around viewing LGBTQ images in the media, favorability toward brands with LGBTQ-inclusive advertising, and that inclusive media images lead to greater acceptance and understanding.

For the full report, visit www.glaad.org/ inclusion.

The power of LGBTQ+ visibility in advertising is also addressed in They Will See You, a new film from P&G and CNN’s “Great Big Story,” launching May 28. In the film, which is the third in the series following last year’s Out of the Shadows and 2018’s The Words Matter, we hear why representation in advertising and media matters from LGBTQ organizations like GLAAD, LGBTQ consumers, and members of the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, among others.

The film showcases the impact that inclusion can have on local communities and how global brands can increase the visibility of marginalized people everywhere.

The “LGBTQ Inclusion in Advertising and Media” study was conducted among a national sample of US adults using a sample sourced by research firm Cint. The findings reveal that non-LGBTQ Americans who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in media were more likely to accept LGBTQ people and be supportive of LGBTQ issues in comparison to respondents who had not been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media: • 48% of respondents who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media say they are more accepting of gay and lesbian people over the past few years when compared to the respondents who had not recently seen LGBTQ people in the media (35%).

• 45% of respondents who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media say they are more accepting of bisexual people over the past few years when compared to the respondents who had not recently seen LGBTQ people in the media (31%).

• 41% of respondents who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media say they are more accepting of nonbinary people over the past few years when compared to the respondents who had not recently seen LGBTQ people in the media (30%).

• 80% of respondents who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media say they are more supportive of equal rights for LGBTQ people when compared to the respondents who had not recently seen LGBTQ people in the media (70%).

The study found that non-LGBTQ consumers exposed to LGBTQ people in the media had higher levels of comfortability with LGBTQ people in their daily lives: • 72% of respondents who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media were more likely to be comfortable learning a family member was LGBTQ, compared to those who had not (66%).

• 79% of respondents who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media were more likely to be comfortable having a new LGBTQ family with children move into their neighborhood when compared to respondents who had not (72%).

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• 69% of respondents who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media were more likely to be comfortable starting a conversation with people whose gender is unclear when compared to respondents who had not (60%).

• 81% of respondents who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media were more likely to be comfortable starting a conversation with people whose sexual orientation is different than their own when compared to respondents who had not (76%).

• 73% of respondents who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media were more likely to be comfortable learning their doctor is gay, lesbian, or bisexual when compared to respondents who had not (67%).

Respondents also looked favorably upon companies who included LGBTQ people in their advertisements: • 86% of respondents believe it reflects the company’s support of LGBTQ rights.

• 85% of respondents believe it reflects the company’s commitment to offering products to all types of customers.

• 82% of respondents believe that it reflects the company’s value for all kinds of diversity.

• 80% of respondents believe that it reflects that the company is making a statement about the importance of recognizing LGBTQ people.

“The findings of this study send a strong message to brands and media outlets that including LGBTQ people in ads, films, and TV is good for business and good for the world,” said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, when media consumption is up

May 29, 2020

and when media outlets serve as lifelines for LGBTQ people in isolation, companies should recognize that now is the right time to grow the quality and quantity of LGBTQ people in advertising. Significant work still needs to be done given the history of bias in LGBTQ representation, but leaders like P&G are raising the bar and bringing other powerful brands to the table.”

While the findings from this study show positive progress, there is still significant work that needs to be done in order to ensure that companies and brands are including LGBTQ people in their ads and marketing to the LGBTQ community in authentic, positive, and impactful ways.

“P&G is committed to the accurate and realistic portrayal of the LGBTQ community in advertising and media. We are building LGBTQ marketing into the fabric of how we build brands by understanding invaluable insights that not only responsibly represent the values and culture of the LGBTQ community but also link closely to the character of our brands – never stereotyping, never misappropriating,” said P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard. “But we all have a lot to learn, and we are truly at the beginning of our journey to master LGBTQ inclusion in our brand-building efforts.”

In response to these critical gaps, GLAAD, P&G, and the Association of National Advertisers’ Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) announced that they are developing best-inclass practices and standards for LGBTQ inclusion and segment-specific advertising and marketing. The best practices developed through this partnership will create accountability through CIIM, the Cultural Insights Impact Measure, which measures the cul-

tural relevance of ads and content and their impact on sales. These standards across the industry will provide an effective framework for LGBTQ inclusion and segment specific advertising that ensures brands and companies prioritize impact, as well as accurate and authentic representation.

“It’s important that we engage more deeply with partners like GLAAD, the ANA/AIMM, and others to develop bestin-class practices for LGBTQ inclusion.

The community faces challenging obstacles, and it’s my hope that this work will allow everyone in our industry to come together and use our collective voice for good – to drive acceptance, inclusion and love for humanity,” said Pritchard.

For more than a year, GLAAD and P&G have been strategic partners helping to drive responsible LGBTQ inclusion across the advertising industry as a force for good. In June 2019, P&G brand Pantene announced its official partnership with GLAAD through the launch of “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m BeautifuLGBTQ+” campaign, featuring a range of people in the LGBTQ community and their own unique stories of transformation. At the end of 2019, Ellen DeGeneres premiered Pantene’s “Home for the Holidays” ad, which featured members of the Trans Chorus of LA and was created in partnership with GLAAD. P&G has released some of the other most memorable LGBTQ-inclusive ads within the past year, including Gillette’s “First Shave” ad featuring a young Black transgender man shaving with his dad, showcasing a diverse group of trans people speaking about the importance of hair to them. Earlier this year, GLAAD also worked with P&G and the Ariadne Getty Foundation to bring the discussion about the importance of LGBTQ inclusion in advertising during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.

Methodology The “LGBTQ Inclusion in Advertising and Media” study was conducted online [in] November and December 2019, among a national sample of 2,031 non-LGBTQ U.S. adults, age 18 or over, using sample sourced by Cint (a leading sample supplier and aggregator, with access to over 50 million panel members worldwide).

GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org or connect with GLAAD on Facebook and Twitter.

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit www. pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.

Courtesy of GLAAD

Celebrating 46 Years!

HRC launches Vote Equal, Vote Safe initiative

WASHINGTON, DC (May 27, 2020) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, announced a new initiative – Vote Equal, Vote Safe – focused on ensuring that LGBTQ voters and their allies (Equality Voters) are able to exercise their right to vote without compromising their own health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In the upcoming months, the Human Rights Campaign will work with leaders across the country to educate voters about how they can safely make their voices heard at the ballot box,” said Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

“The Vote Equal, Vote Safe initiative will build on our proven relationships across the country to advocate for the increased funding and new regulations needed to ensure safe and flexible voting options. As our nation continues to battle COVID-19, it is clear this pandemic will affect how millions of Americans will vote this fall. From Wisconsin to Georgia, partisan politicians have put their own political interests ahead of the health and safety of voters. We will not stand for this and will not be silent. Our community has been subjected to voter suppression before and we will not be passive in the face of efforts to disenfranchise us again.”

“No voter in Wisconsin or any other state should ever have to choose between protecting their health and safety and exercising their right to vote. Generation after generation of Americans have fought to secure this right and now we are called on to join this fight to protect and expand voting rights,” said Sen. Tammy Baldwin. “Every American must have an opportunity to vote safely, and I take great pride in being a part of this effort. The HRC’s Vote Equal, Vote Safe initiative will help ensure that every American voter, including LGBTQ and Equality Voters across the country, is empowered to have their voice heard in the upcoming elections.

Together, we are going to expand the vote and make sure we bring about the change our country so desperately needs.”

“As President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence continue attacks on the LGBTQ community, the stakes couldn’t be higher this election for Equality Voters,” said Sen. Kamala Harris. “This is why we must ensure that everyone can safely make their voice heard and have their votes counted as the nation continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. This election year, we have the opportunity to send a powerful message at the ballot box: that anti-equality voices won’t win. I’m proud to partner with the Human Rights Campaign and look forward to working with them on this new initiative.”

Image courtesy of HRC

“Every voter should have equal and safe access to the ballot box, and LGBTQ voters are no exception,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar. “The HRC knows that every vote counts in this election, and the Vote Equal, Vote Safe initiative is exactly the right program at the right time. We must work together to ensure each one of us has the tools and resources to cast a ballot safely – because no one should have to choose between their health and casting a ballot.”

“Arizonans have voted by mail safely and securely for years, and it’s time the rest of the country follow Arizona’s lead,” said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. “The Human Rights Campaign’s Vote Equal, Vote Safe initiative will help ensure everyday Americans can exercise our constitutional rights while staying safe during this public health crisis.”

“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy. Now, more than ever, it’s important that all Americans are able to participate in our elections as easily and safely as possible,” said Rep. David N. Cicilline, the author of the Automatic Voter Registration Act. “I’m delighted to join the HRC in this important effort to ensure that LGBTQ people are able to make their voices heard at the ballot box this November.”

“During this pandemic, we should be doing everything we can to protect people’s health and their access to the ballot box – expanding vote by mail is critical to ensuring that,” said Rep. Mark Takano. “I’m grateful for the work the HRC is doing to make sure that the voices of our community are being heard, while their safety is prioritized. As someone who votes by mail, I encourage everyone to register to vote, to request a mail ballot, and to exercise their right to vote safely from their home.”

Housed within the HRC’s Unite for Equality campaign, the Vote Equal, Vote Safe initiative will focus on three major points:

• Engage LGBTQ voters and Equality Voters – voters who prioritize LGBTQ equality at the ballot box – to ensure that they know their voting options and are able to navigate the process.

• Advocate at the federal, state, and local levels for funding and expanded voting options.

• Research to ensure that LGBTQ Voters and Equality Voters are comfortable using all available options for safe and flexible voting, including but not limited to: vote by mail, more early voting options, and Election Day polling locations.

Prior to the pandemic, poll after poll showed record levels of enthusiasm and anticipation for the 2020 election, and turnout was projected to be historic. It is clear voters want to be heard this November, and the HRC will work to ensure they are able to cast their votes without fear for their personal health or the safety of their family, or a lack of understanding about voting options.

Three of the HRC’s seven priority states have changed election laws since the 2018 election to allow for expanded access to the ballot box: Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Election officials and the courts are instituting additional changes in these states and elsewhere. Additionally, research shows that some in minority and underrepresented communities are distrustful of vote by mail, which indicates a need for increased information about the process for voters nationwide. The HRC will work to both improve understanding and trust in voting by mail and partner with organizations with deep, long-standing relationships in minority and underrepresented communities to ensure equal access to voting.

While some states and cities have recently taken steps to ensure voters have increased opportunity to vote by mail, millions of voters across the country live in areas where severe restrictions still exist.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS COSTA RICA continued from cover

President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado – Photo by Costa Rica Foreign Ministry via AP

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President Carlos Alvarado said the law change meant Costa Rica now recognized the rights Lesbian and Gay people had always deserved.

He tweeted that “empathy and love should from now on be the guiding principles which will allow us to move forward and build a country where there is room for everyone.”

Enrique Sánchez, Costa Rica’s first openly Gay member of parliament, welcomed the change and praised those who had spent years lobbying for the same-sex marriage ban to be lifted.

“With their experience, their struggles... they have helped build a society where there are no second-class families or second-rate people,” he told Reuters news agency.

Same-sex marriage is already possible in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, and some parts of Mexico, but Costa Rica is the first country in Central America to allow it.

May 29, 2020

The HRC will activate its longstanding relationships with elected leaders at every level of the ballot to help pass legislation or issue orders that meet the HRC’s principles for safe voting. Those principles are: Expanded voter registration options, including: • Online voter registration • Same-day voter registration Expanded vote-by-mail options, including: Count all ballots postmarked on or before Election Day Allow no-excuse absentee voting for everyone No witness requirement for absentee voting Postage must be free or prepaid by the government Reform signature matching laws to protect voters Allow community organizations to help collect and deliver voted, sealed ballots Expanded in-person voting options • Extend early voting times and dates • Increase number of in-person early vote and Election Day polling locations • Follow CDC safety guidance at all inperson voting locations The HRC, alongside its partners, will also conduct extensive educational research to identify voters’ key concerns with vote by mail, especially among youth, LGBTQ voters of color, and communities of color more broadly.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

Courtesy of the HRC

The Inter-American Court, an international body, ruled in January 2018, that Latin American countries should legalize same-sex marriages. The court recommended that marriage rights be exercised through temporary decrees while governments enacted permanent laws.

Later the same month, what would have been Costa Rica’s first same-sex wedding was blocked by official who refused to apply the temporary rules designed to allow such marriages to take place.

Costa Rica’s constitutional court ruled in August 2018 that a ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional and gave parliament 18 months to legislate or the provision would be automatically nullified.

Earlier this month, more than 20 lawmakers tried to delay the marriage ruling by an additional 18 months, but the measure failed, and the ban was lifted at midnight on May 26.

The only catch is that couples have to settle for online weddings due to COVID19 restrictions.

Seattle Gay News 7

FILM

Aggressively bleak Good Woman easy to fall in love with

Sara Bolger in A Good Woman is Hard to Find – Photo courtesy of Film Movement

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer A GOOD WOMAN IS HARD TO FIND Video On Demand Abner Pastoll’s A Good Woman Is Hard to Find is a ruthless gut-punch of a drama featuring Sarah Bolger in a magnificent tour de force performance that blew me away. A kinetic, hard-hitting follow-up to his playful 2015 indie gem Road Games, the director’s latest is a show-stopping bit of pulp fiction that never loses its focus or attempts to minimize the sadistic terrors lurking in the shadows of the frame. This is one of the best motion pictures I’ve seen so far this year.

Sarah (Bolger) is a young, recently widowed single mother trying to maintain a sense of normalcy for her two young children after their father is murdered. Her eldest, Ben (Rudy Doherty), was there when the crime happened and has been mute ever since. Her youngest, Lucy (Macie McCauley), tends to cling to her mother as if she is quietly petrified Sarah will disappear if she were to let go.

Things take a chilling turn when local thug Tito (Andrew Simpson) bursts into the family’s house unannounced. He’s robbed a pair of murderous local mobster Leo Miller’s (Edward Hogg) drug-dealing goons, and he’s decided he’s going to hide his illgotten gains in Sarah’s bathroom with or without her permission. She knows how horrible an idea this is. She also knows it will get even worse if Miller were to discover Tito’s whereabouts.

Ronan Blaney’s (Don’t Go) script is sharp and to the point. It doesn’t mince words and it contains zero in the way of pointless fluff. The writer’s scenario immediately gets to the point, making clear the precariousness of Sarah’s position and cements early on why it is she can’t turn to local law enforcement for assistance. There is a specificity of focus that’s superb, the film maintaining a persuasive power that only grows in strength as events progress to their bloody conclusion.

Bolger is incredible. This is a forceful performance overflowing in a tired emotional exhaustion that would be tragically demoralizing if it were not also coupled

8 Seattle Gay News

with a pugnaciously protective resilience that helps give Sarah the energetic vitality to keep moving forward no matter how difficult doing so might be. She is a tigress protecting her cubs, and in her eyes I could always see the wheels turning round and round. Sarah isn’t the timidly grieving wallflower she initially appears to be, her intelligent ferocity hidden deep within as she tries to plot out her actions six or seven steps beyond anything anyone would be expecting from her.

Pastoll handles the intricacies of Blaney’s story with determined effortlessness. There’s an early scene where Sarah goes to the local police department to enquire as to the status of her husband’s murder case, and with practically zero dialogue I learned everything I needed to know about what was going on and why.

Later, there’s an even better moment where Miller, who is skin-crawlingly good, has a spontaneously violent outburst where he brutalizes a pair of well-meaning interlopers attempting to stop him from nabbing Sarah. It’s shocking stuff, and if I didn’t quite understand why she was so terrified of this man before this confrontation I sure as heck did afterward.

Admittedly, there’s not a lot in the way of light or levity happening here. Unlike Road Games, Pastoll refuses to allow for anything close to resembling a breath of fresh air or a moment of lightheartedness to transpire. This is a movie that jangles the nerves right from the first blood-splattered shot and only works even harder to cut them into teeny tiny little ribbons from that point forward. It’s not easy to take, and if not for the introspective nuance and maternal complexity of Bolger’s performance I’m not entirely sure I’d have been willing to endure the sheer weight of the darkness, dread and heartbreak lurking at the heart Blaney’s screenplay.

But I embraced all of it. From Richard C. Bell’s smoothly volatile cinematography to composer Matthew Pusti’s evocatively pulse-pounding score, every piece of Pastoll’s rambunctious thriller fit together with exquisite ease. A Good Woman Is Hard to Find is easy to love, and from its rough pugilistic edges to its unvarnished cutthroat emotions there’s not a single facet of it that I don’t want to stand up and applaud.

May 29, 2020

Going for the jugular

Abner Pastoll on making A Good Woman Is Hard to Find easy to love

Sara Bolger in A Good Woman is Hard to Find – Photo courtesy of Film Movement

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer A GOOD WOMAN IS HARD TO FIND Video On Demand Abner Pastoll’s A Good Woman Is Hard to Find is one of the best films I’ve seen so far this year. A transfixing character-driven thriller, the story follows recently widowed single mother of two Sarah (Sarah Bolger) who suddenly finds herself smackdab in the middle of a terrifying situation that puts her entire family’s lives in danger.

After robbing two of local mobster Leo Miller’s (Edward Hogg) goons of their drug cache, smalltime thug Tito (Andrew Simpson) bursts into Sarah’s house and demands she become his accomplice whether she’d like to or not. Fearful of what he’ll do to

her kids, especially her young son who has been mute since he witnessed his father being killed, the young mother initially tries to go along with the intruder’s plans.

But when his advances turn more forceful, and when she learns of who it was he stole from, Sarah has to quickly come up with a plan to extricate herself from this situation before it’s too late.

Working from a script by Ronan Blaney and a follow-up to Pastoll’s well-received 2015 thriller Road Game, the movie is a consistently enthralling cat and mouse tale where who is the predator and who is the prey is constantly in flux. Anchored by a stellar performance from Bolger and a mesmerizing sense of time and place, A Good Woman Is Hard to Find is a source of a consistent delight, this entertaining gofor-broke slice of pulp fiction going for the

Celebrating 46 Years!

viewer’s jugular right from the very first frame.

I sat down with Pastoll over Skype to chat about his film. Here are some edited excerpts from our energetic and lively conversation: Sara Michelle Fetters: I’m curious.

That opening image that you start with, it’s just so transfixing. When did you decide to have that image of Sarah be presented right there at the beginning? Before we have even the faintest clue as to what the story was going to be? I have to imagine that wasn’t how things began in the script.

Abner Pastoll: You’re right. It didn’t.

It was on the final day of the shoot and we were shooting the shower scene that takes place in the middle of the movie.

Sarah Bolger was leaning against the wall as we were setting up a shot in the bathroom. I was just talking to my cameraman, and we’re like, that looks amazing. Why don’t we turn the camera around? I spoke to Sarah and we said, “Why don’t we get this moment of you just staring into the middle of nothing, just lost in thought?”

And we went and we shot it. When we wrapped for lunch on that last day, and I was looking at the footage and I just remember thinking, wow, that’s our new opening for the film. That’s how I discovered it. Right there. Right then. Completely by chance.

Sara Michelle Fetters: I love stories like this. Filmmaking is such a collaborative process, and for you all to realize at that moment what Sarah was doing was extraordinary, and then to go and capture it, that had to feel pretty great.

Abner Pastoll: It’s an amazing feeling.

Especially, because like I said, that was our very last shooting day. By that point, Sarah was very much that character. So just by her leaning against the wall and looking into the distance, it was like watching the actual character doing her thing at that particular moment in time.

Sara Michelle Fetters: Backing up a little, Ronan’s script, where did it come from? How did this get to you and when did you know that this was going to be your follow-up to Road Games?

Abner Pastoll: It was actually one month before the world premiere of Road Games. I was looking for a writing partner because I had a few ideas of things that I was working on and a few things I wanted somebody else to write with me. My producer reached out to an agent in the UK and asked if he had some writing samples from some of his clients. He sent us over five scripts, and one of those was for A Good Woman Is Hard to Find by Ronan Blaney. It blew me away. It was completely unexpected, and I had no idea if it was even available. So we asked if it was, because not only is Ronan a writer I wanted to collaborate with, but I wanted to make this script.

It turned out that he had just finished writing that script a few days before I had read it. I was the first person to even read it other than his agent. It was fate. I just felt like this was a movie I needed to make. This leaped into my life and took over everything. Basically since that first moment I’ve just been focusing on it.

Sara Michelle Fetters: How did you tear apart what Ronan had created so that you could bring your own voice to the material? What was that collaboration like?

Abner Pastoll: The key element was who to cast. When I read the script, Sarah Bolger is pretty much the only person I could see in the lead role. So, first of all, it was making sure that I had the right cast.

That was key.

I sent Sarah the script and she really connected with it. Within 24 hours of sending it to her we were on a Skype video call discussing the character and the story. I just knew we were on the same page. I cast her in the film, but it was about 18 months before we got to shoot. So she was involved in the project for a long time. I spent a lot of that time working with her to find the voice of the character and to elevate the script even further above what Ronan had so beautifully written.

Sara Michelle Fetters: So, in some ways, that time was almost like your

Sara Bolger in A Good Woman is Hard to Find – Photo courtesy of Film Movement

rehearsal period. I think I read somewhere you shot all of this in some crazy compressed time frame? Like somewhere between 16 and so days?

Abner Pastoll: Yes. That’s a great way to look at it.

We were supposed to shoot in 20 days, but one week before we were due to start principal photography we had to cut our schedule by four days due to a miscalculation in the budget because this was a coproduction between the UK and Belgium.

Half the film was shot in Northern Ireland and half the film was shot in Belgium on a soundstage.

Unfortunately, that set was slightly more expensive than originally estimated. There was an error in our budget file and we had to cut back on some shooting days. At that point I thought, it’s already tight to get all of this done in 20 days and I’m sure we can do it in 19.

I remember that moment so clearly.

They were like, “No, we’re not cutting one day. We have to cut four days.” I was floored. I honestly had no idea how we were going to shoot this film in 16 days. But we did it! By some miracle, we got through it.

Sara Michelle Fetters: And so all that prep work you and Sarah did beforehand likely paid off.

Abner Pastoll: Indeed! Absolutely.

I think the reason the film succeeds is because we had so much time to develop the character. Even during the shoot, we would wrap our shooting day and then go back to our hotel and sit in the lobby, drink tea in the evening and discuss everything that we had already done and what we’re going to be doing tomorrow. Just making sure that the scenes made sense and that we cut out any repetition.

That’s one thing that we kept finding in the script. There were moments that might’ve been a bit too repetitive. This was a way to streamline the process. I know this helped quite a lot.

Sara Michelle Fetters: That’s so crazy that you say that because one of the things that impressed me so much about the film is how little fat it has, how little expositional excess there is. Early on, there’s that scene where Sarah goes into the police department to check on her husband’s case.

We don’t need a lot of dialogue there. It’s all pretty much said in the looks that pass between the desk sergeant and Sarah.

Abner Pastoll: Right. You get what you need from that moment, nothing more.

Sara Michelle Fetters: I’m sure there was plenty of material that you wanted to shoot, or maybe even did shoot, and loved.

How hard is it to sit there and realize you don’t need those moments, no matter how personally attached you might be to them, understanding the film will be better with-

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out them? How difficult is it to make those decisions?

Abner Pastoll: You have to go with your gut instinct, and sometimes you don’t always make the right decision. There isn’t really a right or wrong, it’s more based on the feeling of what you think suits the story or the character. It can be difficult. There were a couple of moments that got cut out of the film that I thought were great but they just slowed the film down or they didn’t quite work. That’s always hard.

But there was a lot of stuff that got cut before we even shot it because we could tell beforehand that it wasn’t going to go into the film. While there are a couple of scenes or moments that got cut down or even cut completely from the film, there were plenty of scenes that were in the script that we didn’t even shoot.

Sara Michelle Fetters: As crazy and as violent as it becomes, there’s an inherent playfulness to Road Games. A Good Woman Is Hard to Find isn’t playful, yet you can’t take your eyes off of it and it is still every bit as entertaining as your prior film. What was that like for you? Because I feel like you have this Hitchcockian glee about things, at least that’s what I took away from Road Games, and that you find a malevolent happiness in some of the crazy goings-on. But this movie is a lot more straightforward. This movie goes for the jugular right from the jump.

Abner Pastoll: I think some of that comes from my being slightly frustrated by a couple of things in Road Games that were misunderstood by some people. I just thought, f-it. I’m going to go for the jugular this time. Take no prisoners. I think that’s probably what happened.

Sara Michelle Fetters: I read somewhere you were pretty much raised in a movie theater. Your parents owned a theater. Road Games, internationally at least, really did play very well theatrically.

Because of circumstances well beyond anyone’s control, is it still a little strange that this film, which would probably have a really strong indie theatre theatrical shelf life, is probably only going to get seen in a non-theatrical setting?

Abner Pastoll: I’m just happy that people will be able to watch the movie. I think that people are stuck at home because of quarantine and at least they have the option to see the movie. To be stressed out by it or be entertained by it depending on the type of person who is watching. I do think we had a pretty successful festival run, so it did get seen with big crowds and many theaters in a few different countries. That was nice.

It was interesting and fun to experience the different reactions.

I do think it would have been worse if we didn’t have the option of streaming or this “virtual cinema” that Film Movement

is doing because otherwise it wouldn’t get seen at all. I think that we have this as a backup, it’s a good thing. For right now.

In the interim. While we figure out what’s going to happen next.

Because we don’t know when we can return to see movies in theaters again. I know I’m definitely having withdrawal symptoms from not being able to go and see movies, but I’m keeping myself entertained at home best I can. Watching tons of stuff online. It’s better than not being able to see anything at all, you know?

Sara Michelle Fetters: What I think is amazing, and it hasn’t just been you and it hasn’t just been Barbara Crampton, what has been interesting to me is seeing how many filmmakers are embracing people viewing their films at home and interacting with them on social media while they all watch together. What’s that experience been like? It seemed to me like you guys had a blast doing that with Road Games.

What’s that been like for you as a filmmaker having that sort of interaction with your fans?

Abner Pastoll: It’s great fun. In the years since making Road Games I’m constantly surprised by all of these new fans that keep coming out of the woodwork.

There are so many people that like the movie that I didn’t even realize liked it. It’s great fun interacting with people and having that shared experience. I have noticed there have been many of these Twitter watch parties, and I think it’s a good way to embrace fans and spend time together whilst we’re all stuck apart.

Sara Michelle Fetters: And is that something you want to do with this film as well?

Abner Pastoll: I think that would be cool. I would prefer, obviously, that people watch it for the first time without having the distraction of having a live-tweet. But I’d be quite happy to do that, yeah. I’m looking forward to it.

Sara Michelle Fetters: I admit, it was a little disconcerting for me looking at Sarah in this, only because I have such vivid memories of her from In America. Seeing Sarah with children that are roughly the same age as she was when she made that movie freaked me out a little.

Abner Pastoll: Right? It’s pretty crazy.

I know what you mean. But she’s just so talented. I think people forget just how talented she was from such an early age and continues to be now.

Sara Michelle Fetters: What did she bring to the material?

Abner Pastoll: A lot. More than I can say.

One major change that wasn’t so obvious in the script, but it’s much more appar-

May 29, 2020

Seattle Gay News 9

see PASTOLL page 15

OBITUARY

AHF mourns passing of AIDS warrior and playwright Larry Kramer WASHINGTON, DC (May 27, 2020) – The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today mourned the passing of Larry Kramer, a tart-tongued firebrand AIDS activist and award-winning playwright whose personal, professional, and creative lives tracked and drew heavily on the AIDS pandemic. In 1981, Kramer was one of the first – and most vocal – to raise the alarm in both the gay community and to the public at large about the new disease that eventually became known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, which first struck the gay community and men who have sex with men.

Kramer was a co-founder of the activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) and author of the Tony Award–winning play The Normal Heart and the Pulitzer Prize–nominated play The Destiny of Me. “Larry Kramer was a giant in our movement. He was the grandfather of AIDS activism,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF. “All of us learned from him even when we didn’t always agree. He was there at the founding of institutions such as GMHC and Housing Works. And his cultural contributions, particularly The Normal Heart, spoke eloquently to not only our minds but our hearts. Larry, you will be sorely missed.”

“I joined ACT UP in 1990 at the peak of deaths and outrage, and Larry Kramer was vocally front and center. He had a great influence on me and my activism to this day – he exemplified a sense of urgency that lives within all of THE AHF’s own advocacy,” said Terri Ford, chief of global policy and advocacy for the AHF. “He spoke up, often unpleasantly shouting what needed to be said regardless of the blowback – or even his own community turning on him.

He was not afraid to stand alone to fight for what was right. Most AIDS leaders over the years disagreed with him at some point, including [me], but that never diminished the respect and honor that he is owed. What a warrior. This is a major loss for AIDS activism, but his fighting spirit lives on within many. The war on AIDS is not yet won and the fight for better global public

From Larry Kramer in Love and Anger – Photo courtesy of HBO

health is just starting. We will fight on in Larry Kramer’s memory.”

During the 2019 LGBTQ+ parade season, the AHF honored Kramer by celebrating him as one of “Our Champions” – eight influential advocates in both the LGBTQ+ and AIDS movements. Colorful images of the eight were featured on a parade bus wrap and informational pillars seen at more than two dozen Gay Pride parades and celebrations across the country – a heartfelt

artistic tribute on the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots, the birth of the modern-day LGBTQ+ rights movement.

“Our Champions” [were] Arthur Ashe, Archbishop Carl Bean, Chris Brownlie, Princess Diana, Connie Norman, Elizabeth Taylor, Pedro Zamora, and Kramer.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/

or services to over 1.4 million people in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/the Caribbean, the Asia/ Pacific region, and Eastern Europe. Learn more about the AHF at www.aidshealth. org or www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow it on Twitter and Instagram @aidshealthcare.

Courtesy of the AHF

NMAC statement on the passing of Larry Kramer WASHINGTON, DC (May 27, 2020) – Following is a statement from NMAC Executive Director Paul Kawata on the passing of Larry Kramer: “I was a kid when I started in the HIV/ AIDS movement in the 1980s. Larry Kramer changed my life. Larry’s writings moved me and inspired me to take action.

When he said, ‘If you’re not mad as hell right now, we’re in trouble,’ he motivated me. He was able to put in writing what I needed to hear in order to stand up and

fight. It was okay for me to be part of something that was bigger than I was. And I thank him for that.

“Larry has been a leader, a mentor, a friend, and a hero to me from the very start.

His advocacy, his activism, and his unrelenting willingness to fight for what was right have inspired so many in the US and around the world. His voice, so eloquent, so passionate, and so determined, whether when he was speaking or writing, was unparalleled in its impact. And he maintained that

spirit until the end. He will be deeply, deeply missed by all of us at NMAC, not just professionally but personally.”

NMAC leads with race to urgently fight for health equity and racial justice to end the HIV epidemic in America. Since 1987, NMAC has advanced its mission through a variety of programs and services, including: a public policy education program, national and regional training conferences, a treatment and research program, numerous elec-

tronic and print materials, and a website: www.nmac.org. NMAC also serves as an association of AIDS service organizations, providing valuable information to community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics, and other groups assisting individuals and families affected by the HIV epidemic.

Courtesy of NMAC

Statement by Brian K. Bond of PFLAG National upon the passing of Larry Kramer WASHINGTON, DC (May 27, 2020) – Today, Larry Kramer passed away. Kramer was an award-winning playwright, author, filmmaker, and LGBTQ+ rights activist known for co-founding the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and ACT UP. Brian K. Bond, executive director of PFLAG National, issued the following statement: “In his lifetime, Larry Kramer urged us forward, made us pay attention, and made us take action. His work turned the

tide on the AIDS epidemic and forced the uncomfortable recognition that pandemic does not discriminate, people do. He helped raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, and demonstrated in no uncertain terms that the lives of LGBTQ+ people matter. As someone living with HIV, I am personally grateful for his voice.

“At a time when we again face a public health crisis due to a pandemic, PFLAG turns to Larry’s example of courage. We

10 Seattle Gay News

May 29, 2020

call on our leaders to take necessary steps that will save lives and protect all people.

While Larry has passed on, his voice, his words, and his urgency to act live on.”

PFLAG is the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies. With over 400 chapters and 200,000 members and supporters crossing multiple generations

of families in major urban centers, small cities, and rural areas across America, PFLAG is committed to creating a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued, and affirmed. To learn more, visit pflag.org, like us on Facebook (/pflag), or follow us on Twitter (@ pflag) or Instagram (@pflag).

Courtesy of PFLAG

Celebrating 46 Years!

HRC mourns the loss of legendary advocate Larry Kramer WASHINGTON, DC (May 27, 2020) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, released the following statement in response to the passing of legendary LGBTQ and public health advocate Larry Kramer.

“At the beginning of the HIV and AIDS crisis – when thousands of LGBTQ people and people of color were dying – Larry

Kramer spoke up when our government was silent,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “Larry’s unending courage and tireless efforts helped awaken a nation to the urgent crisis of HIV and AIDS and brought us closer to a cure than ever before.

Through his life and work, Larry Kramer inspired generations of advocates, many of whom are alive today because he dared to speak out and act up. We mourn the loss of this advocate, and rededicate ourselves to our collective responsibility of ending the

HIV and AIDS epidemic – which unfortunately continues to largely impact people of color today – once and for all.”

In the 1980s, Larry Kramer helped found the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) and, later, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). A longtime play- and screenwriter, Kramer wrote The Normal Heart, which debuted on Broadway in 2011 after a long, successful run in theaters in London, Los Angeles, and New York. Kramer is survived by his husband,

David Webster.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender, and queer people. The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

Courtesy of the HRC

Remembering Larry Kramer To the editor, Let’s honor the Legacy of Larry Kramer, founder of ACT-UP, by remembering HOW he helped change our world for the better.

Kramer exemplified a stark shift of LGBT politics from the hat-in-hand lobbying and appeasement of power that preceded it to one where audacious demands successfully were made on the powerful.

In a few short years ACT-UP, with little money but lots of activist energy, accomplished far more than years of moneydrenched lobbying and electoral politicking, before and after it.

In so doing, Kramer et al. implicitly paid homage to the best of the Stonewall generation who rebirthed the worldwide LGBTQ movement in 1969 and the early 1970s. He, like the Stonewall generation, was unabashedly radical, offering radical solutions to challenges when tepid, go-slow solutions were clearly inadequate.

Kramer’s legacy offers important lessons for today’s world. While many LGBTQs today accept token reforms that cost the powerful little of their ill-gotten wealth, ACT-UP forced real money out of our opponents. It not only forced life-saving changes in medical protocols, it won many millions of dollars to combat AIDS.

By helping win the Americans with Disabilities Act (from a Republican president, no less!), it put powerful legal tools in the hands of disabled people defending their rights and forced government and businesses to spend real money on making workplaces and public areas accessible.

As with the AIDS crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic is once again exposing the barbarity of our profit-driven health care system.

After being shat on by decades of union busting, privatization and loss of benefits, millions of frontline workers, disproportionately people of color and poorly paid, are now expected to be satisfied with military jet flyovers and commercials by

wealthy corporations extolling how “we’re all in this together.”

As we emerge from the pandemic, ACTUP’s legacy of “direct action getting the goods,” as with other movements in history of people-centered direct action, will provide a valuable guide to how we can win the real, sweeping changes that this world so urgently needs.

Andy Thayer, co-founder Gay Liberation Network, Chicago

KRAMER

continued from cover According to Kramer’s husband, David Webster, he died from pneumonia. Kramer had contended with health problems for much of his adult life, including HIV, liver disease, and a successful liver transplant.

In the early 1980s, Kramer was one of the first activists to foresee that HIV/AIDS, what was then thought to be a rare form of cancer affecting Gay men, would spread worldwide and kill millions of people without regard to sexual orientation.

Under the circumstances, he said, “If you write a calm letter and fax it to nobody, it sinks like a brick in the Hudson.”

Kramer founded the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in 1981. It was the first service organization for HIV-positive people. His fellow directors kicked him out a year later for his aggressive rhetoric. Never one to accept a rebuke, he characterized them as “a sad organization of sissies.”

Kramer then founded ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), a direct action group demanding a speedup in AIDS research and an end to discrimination against Gay men and Lesbians. ACT UP targeted government offices, Wall Street, and the Roman Catholic Church.

Kramer pulled no punches in his criticism of officials. For example, he once introduced New York City Mayor Ed Koch to his dog as the man who was “killing Daddy’s friends.”

Although Kramer routinely accused officials of “murder” and “genocide” for failing to move quickly enough to tackle the HIV epidemic, many recognized that his outbursts were part of a strategy to shock the country into dealing with HIV as a public-health emergency.

The infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, for example, said of Kramer “Once you got past the rhetoric, you found that Larry Kramer made a lot of sense, and that he had a heart of gold.”

Fauci later helped Kramer get a liver transplant and access to experimental drugs that saved his life.

Kramer was also a world-class writer.

His breakthrough came with a screen adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s Women in Love, for which he had obtained the film rights with $4,200 of his own money.

He also produced the film, which was a box-office hit when it was released in 1969 and a high point of more than one career.

From Larry Kramer in Love and Anger – Photo courtesy of HBO

The screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award. Glenda Jackson won an Oscar as best actress for her performance, and the director, Ken Russell, established himself as an important filmmaker.

Kramer eventually turned to Gay themes with his first novel, Faggots. A scathing – some said “self-loathing” – look at promiscuous sex, drug use, predation, and sadomasochism among Gay men, it was a lightning rod from the day of its publication in 1978.

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In 1985, Kramer published his autobiographical play, The Normal Heart, depicting his antagonistic relationship with his father and his mutually ambivalent relationship with his protective older brother.

The Normal Heart returned to the stage in 2011, winning a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. An HBO adaptation, written by Mr. Kramer, won the 2014 Emmy for outstanding television movie.

While he recovered from his 2001 liver transplant, Kramer began work on a new

project, a massive historical novel called “The American People,” by which he meant the Gay American people. A central argument of the work was that many of the country’s historically important figures, including George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, had had homosexual relationships.

The first volume, almost 800 pages long, was published in 2015. Volume 2, more than 80 pages longer, was published this year.

May 29, 2020

Seattle Gay News 11

12 Seattle Gay News

May 29, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

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May 29, 2020

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Seattle contemporary dance company Whim W’Him launches all-digital Season 11 with IN-with-WHIM membership program Whim W’Him is launching its 11th season this June with a new all-digital membership program, IN-with-WHIM. Whim W’Him created this program as a way to prioritize the health of its artists and the community, while supporting ways for dance artists, students and audiences to come together while staying apart.

To announce the launch of IN-withWHIM and Season 11, Whim W’Him will also host the first episode of its “Dance and Tell” series from 6-7pm, Thursday, June 4 on Facebook Live. [https://m.facebook. com/whimwhim/] The event will be hosted by Whim W’Him dancer Jim Kent and board member Natalie Sandoval, and will feature short interviews and clips about what Whim W’Him will be sharing with the community in the year ahead. Visit https://vimeo. com/423019543 to watch a brief promotional video created by the Whim W’Him company and edited by dancer Liane Aung.

Whim W’Him is also reimaging its XALT program, originally planned for the last week of May and early June, and is currently creating new dance films with physically distant choreography by Penny Saunders and Artistic Director & Founder Olivier Wevers. These films will also be available through IN-with-WHIM starting on June 18.

Through IN-with-WHIM, Whim W’Him will feature an experimental season of original dance films by some of the world’s most intriguing contemporary dance choreographers, and a series of digital conversations designed to bring audiences into the creative process to share and engage with the dance community in Seattle and around the globe. Whim W’Him is creating the original dance films in collaboration with Quinn Wharton, a New Yorkbased movement photographer and filmmaker who has also danced professionally with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and San Francisco Ballet.

These dance films will include: • Choreographic Shindig VI (September 2020) – original dance films featuring new dance creations choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Madison Olandt & Mike Tyus • This Is Not The Little Prince (January 2021) – an original film version of Artistic Director & Founder Olivier Wevers’fulllength work that premiered in June 2019 with original music by composer Brian Lawlor • Wonder Beyond (May 2021) – original dance films featuring new dance creations choreographed by Joseph Hernandez and Robyn Mineko Williams In addition to these original dance films, Whim W’Him will also use its IN-withWHIM platform to curate a series of digital artist interviews and chats called “Dance and Tell,” share behind-the-scenes experiences, and livestream some of its rehearsals so dancers, students and audiences can see how Whim W’Him and its dancers are continuing to find ways to create while adjusting their practices to comply with vital and necessary public safety mandates.

IN-with-WHIM will also feature a variety of additional content, including videos of past creations from Whim W’Him’s first decade alongside interviews with the creators, contemporary technique classes, and forums around mental and physical health for dancers and movement artists.

In addition to its new online offerings, Whim W’Him is also exploring a series of free, physically distant, outdoor popup performances. These performances will take place throughout the summer to

14 Seattle Gay News

Photo by Stefano Altamura

engage our communities in innovative contemporary dance creations in ways that are safe and responsible.

Artistic Director & Founder Olivier Wevers shared, “While online streaming will never replace the experience of live performances, we believe in nurturing the future of contemporary dance by stretching our imagination beyond the stage and engaging with our community virtually.

Filled with courage and resilience, we are determined, even while physically distant from others, to look beyond our own circumstances and interact with the world in creative ways. We are keeping new contemporary dance creations alive, for our communal healing now and to ensure a revitalized future for the arts and humanity.”

IN-with-WHIM memberships will go on sale through whimwhim.org during the first week of June. Annual memberships will cost $10 per month for a total of $120. Monthly memberships will cost $12 per month and can be canceled at any time.

On-demand tickets for one-time viewing will also be available for each of the three new dance creations in Season 11 at prices ranging from $5-$50. On-demand tickets will be available on August 1, 2020 and throughout the season.

ABOUT SEASON 11 Whim W’Him is launching its 11th season with IN-with-WHIM, an all-digital membership program featuring an experi-

May 29, 2020

mental season of original dance films by some of the world’s most intriguing contemporary dance choreographers, and a series of digital conversations designed to bring audiences into the creative process to share and engage with the dance community in Seattle and around the globe.

Whim W’Him created this program as a way to prioritize the health of its artists and the community, while supporting ways for dance artists, students and audiences to come together while staying apart.

TICKET INFORMATION WHIM W’HIM SEASON 11 July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021 IN-with-WHIM, featuring original dance films Choreographic Shindig VI (September 2020), This Is Not The Little Prince (January 2021), Wonder Beyond (May 2021) and more.

Memberships available June 2020: Annual membership: $10/month ($120) | Monthly membership: $12/month | Ondemand tickets for one-time viewing available August 1, 2020 and beyond: TeenTix $5 | Students/Seniors $10 | General $20 | Family $35 | Premium $50 IN COMMUNITY Whim W’Him supports dancers, choreographers and artists who are creating work by and for our community. In addition to providing a platform for artists to inno-

vate and collaborate, we provide a platform for audiences to come together in dialogue with the artists and with each other. For Season 11, these conversations will move online through IN-with-WHIM programs like “Dance and Tell” and other virtual gatherings. Whim W’Him will also continue to build community through its social media platforms. Follow Whim W’Him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS Whim W’Him company dancers for the 2020-21 season are returning dancers Liane Aung, Jane Cracovaner, Jim Kent and Karl Watson. Visit http://www.whimwhim. org/company/meet-our-dancers/ for bios.

Whim W’Him is also welcoming three new dancers to the company: Michael Arellano, Ashley Green and Andrew McShea.

Their bios are below, along with bios for the choreographers who will be collaborating with Whim W’Him during Season 11.

Michael Arellano, Dancer Originally from Rochester, MI, Michael Arellano attended Western Michigan University graduating with a BA in dance and a BS in psychology. There he performed works by choreographers including Aszure Barton, Kyle Abraham and James Gregg. In 2017 he studied abroad at the University of Roehampton in London, England and completed the BalletBoyz Dancer’s Course. In 2019, he joined GroundWorks Dance Theater as a

Celebrating 46 Years!

company artist. He has also performed work

by Iztok Kovač at Dock 11 while attending the b12 Berlin Workshop Festival.

scene. He has contributed as a performer for GoPlastic company in Dresden since 2016, and has appeared in his own works KILL YOUR (2017), and FROM HERE ON OUT (2018). In addition to his work as a dancer, he was a performance curator for STORE CONTEMPORARY gallery space in Dresden from 2013-2016. As a teacher, Hernandez taught improvisation theory at Purchase College for the fall semester of 2019, as well as choreographic workshops for the Royal Danish Ballet summer program (2015), Artof (Zurich, 2019), and The Playground (NYC, 2019).

Ashley Green, Dancer Ashley Green was born and raised in Charleston, SC where she began dance at a very young age. She trained in a variety of styles including ballet, modern, jazz, tap and hip hop. Green followed her passion for dance at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA, where she performed works by Peter Chu, Aszure Barton, Kyle Abraham and Garfield Lemonius, to name a few. In April 2020, Green graduated from Point Park University earning her BFA in Dance with a concentration in Modern dance.

Andrew McShea, Dancer Andrew McShea, from Leesburg, VA, began his training in ballet and jazz at the Loudoun School of Ballet. He earned a BFA in Dance from Point Park University, under the direction and mentorship of Rubén Graciani. McShea has performed works by Andrea Miller, Micaela Taylor, Zack Winokur and Julia Eichten, and many others. He has also worked with Patrick O’Brien Dance Project, Peter Stathus Dance and Gallim Dance, most recently joining DanceWorks Chicago.

tive, participated in The National Choreographers Initiative and was the recipient of the 2016 Princess Grace Choreographic Fellowship. In the 2019-20 season, she is excited to be collaborating with the Tulsa Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, The Grand Rapids Ballet, Whim W’Him, BalletX, Dayton Ballet, Diablo Ballet, Ballet Idaho, Indiana University, Seattle Dance Collective, and Point Park University.

Penny Saunders, Choreographer Penny Saunders, originally from West Palm Beach, Florida, graduated from the Harid Conservatory in 1995, and began her professional career with The American Repertory Ballet under the direction of Septime Webre. She went on to dance with Ballet Arizona, MOMIX Dance Theater and Cedar Lake Ensemble, and in 2004 she joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

In 2011, Saunders won the International Commissioning Project which launched her choreographic career. Saunders has created pieces for Hubbard Streets’ main and second company, Cincinnati Ballet, The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Whim W’Him, BalletX, Tulsa Ballet 2, Ballet Idaho, SFDanceworks, SALT Contemporary Dance, Neos Dance Theater, Missouri Contemporary Ballet and Owen Cox Dance Group, among others.

Saunders is honored to be the Resident Choreographer at The Grand Rapids Ballet where she recently completed her first full length work, The Happy Prince and Other Wilde Tales, that focused on the life and fairy tales of Oscar Wilde. Saunders has received support from The New York City Ballet Choreographic Commissions Initia-

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Choreographer The Colombian-Belgian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa completed her dance education at the Royal Ballet School of Flanders in Belgium. She started choreographing at the early age of 11, and decided in 2003 to end her dance career to focus her energies solely on choreography. In that same year she was hailed “rising star of the Dutch dance scene” (NRC newspaper) and only seven years later the Temecula Performing Arts Examiner wrote: ”Ochoa is truly a masterful choreographer with an edge for what dance can and should be in this constantly changing industry.” Ochoa is a prolific choreographer who has created works for 60 dance companies around the world such as the Dutch National Ballet, Ballet of Flanders, Pennsylvania Ballet, BalletX, BJM-Danse Montreal, Ballet Hispanico, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Scottish Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, West Australian Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, English National Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Grands Ballets Canadiens, San Francisco Ballet and New York City Ballet. Among the honors her work has received: A Streetcar Named Desire, created for the Scottish Ballet in 2012 won

FILM

PASTOLL

continued from page 9 ent in the final film, is it feels much more about grief and its lingering effects than it did on the page, and that’s because of Sarah’s performance. She really brought that out.

But she brought so much. I think that the film works because of Sarah’s performance. She keeps it so grounded in reality. Even though it goes to places that are at times, especially towards the end of the film, this heightened form of reality, that isn’t necessarily realistic, she manages to make it believable. That’s all Sarah Bolger.

I can’t imagine another actor in this role. It wouldn’t have been as successful.

Sara Michelle Fetters: You also bring back Andrew Simpson. I don’t want to talk too much about him because I think it would be a spoiler to elaborate too much, but how much fun was it to work with him again in a role that has some similarities to what he did in Road Games but at the same time is wildly different in some fairly specific ways?

Abner Pastoll: I think one of the main reasons why I cast him was to show another side to his acting abilities, to show his range. Tito is pretty much the polar opposite of who Jack was and what Road Games is. Very, very different. But there are those tiny similarities that I think are basically

Image courtesy of Whim W’Him

down to Andrew himself, that he manages to connect the two characters.

I just really love working with him. We have that shorthand from having worked together already. It kept things simple, especially when we had such a tight schedule for shooting. We knew each other’s rhythms and pacing. I didn’t have to spend too much time trying to get him to do this or to do that. I just let Andrew go a little bit wild with the character because I trusted him. It was really fun to work with him again, to let him shine and show a different side to his acting ability.

Sara Michelle Fetters: I also want to give you a couple of seconds to talk about Edward Hogg. Freaking hell is he terrifying in this.

Abner Pastoll: Ha! He’ll be happy to hear that you said that. He’s the loveliest guy.

He’s actually one of my best friends.

I’ve known him now for 10 years. We did a short film together and became really good friends in the years since. I thought he would be an amazing choice for this role and it was great to be able to collaborate. I let him be terrifying because he’s really not terrifying at all in real life. He did have a cameo in Road Games. I don’t know if you remember that.

Sara Michelle Fetters: I do. And I love that you give him a screen credit for it.

Abner Pastoll: He was grateful that

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Best Choreography Classical from Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards UK and was nominated for the prestigious Olivier Award; Broken Wings, the life and work of Frida Kahlo, created for English National Ballet, was named one of 2016’s best premieres by Dance Europe and other newspapers, and was nominated for several Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards; Sombrerisimo, created for Ballet Hispanico, is on the repertoire of four companies and received Cuba’s Villanueva Award in 2015. Ochoa is the recipient of the Jacob’s Pillow Choreography Award 2019.

Joseph Hernandez, Choreographer Joseph Hernandez was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky in 1988. The son of a military musician, he lived in Heidelberg, Germany from 1992-2002 where he began his ballet training with Isabel Christie and Carolyn Carattini. He was admitted to the School of American Ballet in New York City in 2004, where he studied on full scholarship until he was offered a position with the New York City Ballet in 2007.

After a series of injuries, he left New York in order to experience as much of a varied array of dance as possible. In his 13 year career as a professional dancer, Hernandez has danced for Ballet Austin (2008-2009), The Royal Ballet of Flanders (2009-2011), Les Ballets de Monte Carlo (2011-2013) and the Dresden Semperoper Ballet (20132020), retiring from full time performance in January of this year. Though he does not perform in a structured ballet company, he believes that it is important to remain in dialogue with physical practice and is heavily involved in the German freelance

Madison Olandt, Choreographer Madison Olandt, born and raised in Los Angeles, is a movement artist and creative director. With a BA in World Arts and Cultures/Dance from UCLA, she has a curiosity for all forms of dance. Madison has worked and choreographed with Rennie Harris, Jaime Rogers, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Daniel Ezralow, Michael Rooney, Academy of Villains Contemporary, Dallas Black Dance Theater, Jacques HeimDiavolo Architecture in Motion, and Jacob Jonas The Company. Olandt is a collaborator at heart, and finds such fulfillment in bringing multiple heads together to generate a vision. Some of her collaborative work has been seen at the Ahmanson Music Center, The Kennedy Center, TEDXUCLA, Pauley Pavilion, Royce Hall, and NBC’s “World of Dance” (Season 3). As of this moment, she is interested in story telling through the abstraction of the human form.

Mike Tyus, Choreographer Mike Tyus is a dancer and choreographer from Los Angeles, California. He has been performing and creating dances for the stage and the camera for over 15 years. Tyus has worked with Cirque Du Soleil, Pilobolus Dance Theater, Danny Elfman, Sidi Larbi Cherkoui, W Magazine, Vogue Italia and currently is the Rehearsal Director and Director of Education for Jacob Jonas The Company. Community and creation are at the core of Tyus’ mission and continue to drive his efforts in crafting work that reflects the times in which we live.

Robyn Mineko Williams, Choreographer Robyn Mineko Williams is from Chicago, Illinois. She was a member of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) for twelve seasons. She began choreographing

see WHIM W’HIM page 17

I gave him a more significant role than a dead body this time. [laughs] One of the things I loved about his performance is he gave a completely different dynamic to the character of Leo Miller than that was on the page. He made him much more of a psycho. He made him much more of an unpredictable psychotic nutcase.

Whereas on the page it was almost just a typical gangster, I think Ed elevated that craziness by his facial expressions, body movements and his maniacal laughter. He added that scary edge through the unpredictability of his performance.

Sara Michelle Fetters: How important was it to make the neighborhood, Sarah’s neighborhood that she lives in with her kids, a third or fourth character in the film?

I felt like the location became just as big an item to keep an eye on, and worthy of our emotional investment, as the main character was.

Abner Pastoll: Thank you for saying that. My approach when I make a movie is to treat the location, as well as things like sound and music, all as their own characters. I think this is important to give things a sense of place. It’s just as important as making a character relatable. I think it’s very much intentional to have that feeling of the location being a character.

Sara Michelle Fetters: At the end of the day, what do you want audiences to take away from the film? What do you hope they’re talking about?

Abner Pastoll: I hope they’re talking about how amazing Sarah Bolger is. I think in that sense it’s already succeeded. But I hope that they get some enjoyment out of it. People react in different ways, and that’s how it should be. But while this is a more a societal thing than a movie thing, I’d ultimately love for people to take women more seriously. That would be great.

Sara Michelle Fetters: One last thing before I let you go. I brought it up on Twitter and I’m going to bring it up here, too.

Is it now your trademark to have these extraordinary end credit tracking shots set to really awesome music?

Abner Pastoll: [laughs] You will be happy to know that you are the first to notice that. You can say you were the one who called it.

Sara Michelle Fetters: Love it. Thank you! It’s a great way to make sure people stay through the credits. And, in the case of both Road Games and now this film, they’ll be happy they did.

Abner Pastoll: Road Games and A Good Woman intentionally don’t have any opening credits, and they both have the credits at the end with the drone shots and aerial shots. It is very much intentional and part of my style. In both cases, I just wanted to get straight into the story and not waste time with being distracted by text or anything. Having this stuff at the end, I think it both fits the films and adds a fun little extra fans will hopefully enjoy.

May 29, 2020

Seattle Gay News 15

ART

“Through Positive Eyes” Seattle artivist application deadline has been EXTENDED TO JUNE 3RD OPPORTUNITY FOR HIV-POSITIVE ADVOCATES in the Seattle area: Participate in a paid photography workshop and work part-time sharing your HIV story as part of the Through Positive Eyes exhibition in Seattle. Learn more and apply at: bit.ly/2020artivistapplication. SHARE YOUR STORY. BANISH STIGMA. Hello again!

I hope you had a great holiday weekend.

I’m reaching out again to let you know that the deadline to apply to become a Through Positive Eyes artivist has been extended to June 3rd. Please feel free to let folks know that we are still accepting applications and that we would love to meet them!

As a reminder: Right now, I’m mostly trying to get information about our opportunity in front of as many HIV+ people in Seattle as possible who might be interested in sharing their story with folks in a museum setting live with tour groups. The project is called “Through Positive Eyes,” feel free to check out our website to see the work of our previous participants (who we call artivists; part artist, part activist!). We’ve visited 10 cities and worked with 136 people so far.

The exhibition in Seattle will be located at the Discovery Center at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and we’re looking for 12 people to train and work with as artivists. We’re not planning to open the actual physical exhibition until January 2021, but we’ll be hosting virtual photo-storytelling workshop activities (all of which the artivists will be paid for attending) with the cohort in the months leading up to the opening. Then, the exhibition will be open for a year and I’ll be moving up to Seattle to

support the artivists through sharing their stories live in the exhibition for the duration of the exhibition’s residency. The artivists can consider this a flexible part time job, and I’ll work with folks’ to make sure their tour ‘shifts’ fit into their schedules.

This is our application link: bit. ly/2020artivistapplication.. There’s more information about the opportunity and our timeline in the application link as well. I’ve also attached our flyer (both the graphic and a version with tabs to print and post on community boards) in this email. It would be super awesome if you have a moment to forward my info along to anyone you think might be interested or other providers who might have a network of their own. We want to make sure we have a wide range of voices and that the LGBTQ+ and indigenous communities in Seattle are represented well, and please note that folks do not need to already identify as an artist or performer coming into this. Our workshop/training program is designed for beginners, so we will be providing full support (creative, administrative, emotional, technological, etc.) through the whole process. With that said, please feel free to spread this info as far and wide as

you’d like in the Seattle HIV community, and thank you thank you thank you!

I’ve included our flyer graphics again, just for quick and easy access if you’d like to use it in any of your communications.

The application itself has been updated with this new deadline date.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and thank you again and again for your help with spreading the word about “Through Positive Eyes.” Learn more and apply at: bit. ly/2020artivistapplication. DEADLINE for application is June 3, 2020.

Warmly, Kelly Gluckman Project Coordinator UCLA Art & Global Health Center Through Positive Eyes Special Exhibition Glorya Kaufman Hall 120 Westwood Plaza, Suite 188B Los Angeles, CA 90095-1608 kelly.gluckman@arts.ucla.edu (818) 294-1648 (office) Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

National AIDS Memorial and ViiV Healthcare create Mary Bowman Arts in Activism Award to support young artist-activists committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS SAN FRANCISCO (May 26, 2020) – The National AIDS Memorial is now accepting applications for a newly created and inspiring program – the Mary Bowman Arts in Activism Award – that offers support to artist-activists who are working and committed to making a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The award is named in honor of Mary Bowman, the poet, advocate, author, singer, and young person living with AIDS, who passed away in early 2019 at the age of 30.

In its first year, the Mary Bowman Arts in Activism Award will support young “artivists” who exemplify Bowman’s passion for the arts as the vehicle for their own HIV/ AIDS community activism and expression.

The award is being funded through a grant from ViiV Healthcare and is intended to support one young artivist, 27 years of age or younger, selected annually, to receive a $5,000 award.

“Mary Bowman was an icon of hope and resilience, and performed at the 2018 ViiV Healthcare Youth and Community Summit, where she inspired leaders across the movement,” said Marc Meachem, head of external affairs, North America, ViiV Healthcare. “This award honors Mary’s legacy and will support young artists like her, who are using their creativity to have a powerful impact in their communities.”

ViiV Healthcare is a proud supporter of arts and culture programs that engage and inspire individuals and communities in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and recognizes the power of culture to break down stigma and isolation. A beautifully produced video tribute to Bowman, created by the National AIDS Memorial through the support of ViiV Healthcare, captures that spirit and Bowman’s life and work.

Born with HIV, Bowman lived out her experiences of growing up and living with HIV (and losing a mother to AIDS) through her art. As a young, out woman of color, she was a dynamic, vital voice for the next generation of individuals living with HIV – proud, willing to speak of her own challenges with not just her own health needs

16 Seattle Gay News

advance social justice, particularly around the issue of HIV/AIDS,” said John Cunningham, executive director of the National AIDS Memorial. “Through programs like these, generously supported by companies like ViiV Healthcare, we are helping inspire a new generation of leaders in the HIV/AIDS movement.”

Details about application process and requirements for the award can be found at AIDSMemorial.org. The first awardee will be announced in August 2020. Interested artist-activists must submit a full application by July 20, 2020, to be considered for the award.

The National AIDS Memorial relies solely on funding from personal donors and corporate and foundation partners to support its mission and programs. Its work, through the National AIDS Memorial Grove, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and inspiring programs, helps ensure that the story of AIDS and the AIDS movement is known in perpetuity, so that never again will our national conscience allow a community to be devastated by an epidemic because of fear, silence, discrimination, or stigma.

Image courtesy of GlobeNewswire

(mental health, social support) – but also a fierce advocate for other young people with HIV for whom a voice was lacking. For Bowman, the arts gave her the platform and

May 29, 2020

voice to channel her creative energy, her passion, her truth.

“This award honors Mary’s pioneering work to end bigotry, discrimination, and to

ViiV Healthcare is a global specialist HIV company established in November 2009 by GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) dedicated to delivering advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV and for people who are at risk of becoming infected with HIV. Shionogi joined in October 2012. The company’s aim is to take a deeper and broader interest in HIV/AIDS than any company has done before and take a new approach to deliver effective and innovative medicines for HIV treatment and prevention, as well as support communities affected by HIV. For more information on the company, its management, portfolio, pipeline, and commitment, please visit www.viivhealthcare.com.

Courtesy of GlobeNewswire

Celebrating 46 Years!

WHIM W’HIM

continued from page 15 in 2001 for HSDC’s Inside/Out Workshop and in 2010, alongside Terence Marling, co-choreographed a full-length narrative work geared towards children, Harold and the Purple Crayon: A Dance Adventure, for Hubbard Street 2. She has since been commissioned by HSDC, Grand Rapids Ballet, Visceral Dance Chicago, and The Nexus Project. Her choreography has been presented at venues such as the Kennedy Center, American Dance Festival and NYC’s Joyce Theatre. She was a winner of Northwest Dance Project’s International Choreography Competition in 2012 and was selected as an E-choreographer in 2013

for Springboard Danse Montreal. Williams is a recipient of the 2013 Princess Grace Choreographic Fellowship and a Princess Grace Foundation – USA 2014 Works In Progress Residency Grant. Upcoming works include a creation for Malpaso Dance Company to be premiered in spring 2019 as well as a new collaboration with dance icon and founding HSDC member, Claire Bataille. robynminekowilliams.com Olivier Wevers, Artistic Director Dedicated to creating works of artistic innovation and collaboration, Brussels-born Olivier Wevers founded Whim W’Him in 2009. Before establishing the company, he was a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. His awards and recogni-

tion include the Princess Grace Foundation Choreography Fellowship, the City of Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award, the grand prize award for an unprecedented two years in a row at the annual Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival in California, and the ArtistTrust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Award.

Wevers participated in the National Choreographers Initiative and the prestigious New York Choreographic Institute. He has created works for companies and festivals around the world, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Northwest Dance Project, BalletX, Spectrum Dance Theater, Prix de Lausanne, White Bird’s 4x4 Ballet Project, and Dance the Dream Seattle.

ABOUT THE COMPANY Whim W’Him is an award-winning Seattle-based contemporary dance company founded in 2009 by Olivier Wevers, former Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer and choreographer. The company presents all new works and has a mission to be a platform centered around choreography and dance for artists to explore their craft through innovation and collaboration.

Since its formation in 2009, Whim W’Him has created more than 50 new contemporary dance works by 30+ global artists. whimwhim.org Courtesy of Whim W’Him

Kathy Hsieh reflects – Zoom edition

by Miryam Gordon SGN A&E Writer

Kathy Hsieh – Photo by John Ulman

Kathy Hsieh is all things arts-related, really. She knows virtually anyone/everyone in the theater community (at minimum) and has headed up her own theater company (SIS Productions), written many plays, directed plays, acted in scores of productions on stage, and been an employee of the City of Seattle in the Office of Arts and Culture for 17 years!

She’s also a delightful and thoughtful conversationalist and a deep-thinker on subject matter. She has presented talks about aspects of arts-and-communities-ofcolor all over the world.

So, I thought it would be fascinating for me, and hopefully also for SGN readers, to discuss various aspects of the arts during COVID-time. We’re all going to be making huge changes in how, when, and where we experience the arts. None more particularly than theater, dance, and other live in-person events.

For our first conversation, we took on the explosion of theatrical events that are being presented either on Zoom or the free streaming opportunities from theaters like National Theatre Live, Lincoln Center, BroadwayHD, and local events (many on YouTube channels).

The question: Is it theater?

KH: Theater is its own experience and Zoom is its own. Film scripts (for instance) are very different from stage plays and you can’t take film and plop it on stage or vice versa. A lot of writers, when they’re writing, envision the arena it might be best done and the Zoom platform needs to be thought of as a specific place to write to and a way to take advantage of the unique aspects it provides.

My way of talking about this time – over the last couple of months… I’m an avid theater goer and see usually 150-200 shows a year, most of which are theater (performances). I’ve always done that my whole life – at least since high school. Watching theater, there’s something about being in the audience. There’s a palpable, visceral energy that you can feel in your gut. At a deep level where you know the performers, including people you never see, have worked together for weeks. And that energy they have on stage fills the entire venue – whether it’s a small or large house. And that

Evan Whitfield and Kathy Hsieh in ArtsWest's Chinglish – Photo by Michael Brunk

energy they exude, we the audience feel.

And we give that back whether we’re laughing or crying or you can hear a pin drop.

The performers feel that back and forth of energy, the reciprocal exchange.

In the rehearsal room, you feel that energy, but you always know that something is missing, a final ingredient. When you add the audience, it’s the reciprocal back and forth that creates the wholistic magic of theater.

So how does that translate into the virtual realm? The reality, it doesn’t. Now we can’t gather and have that reciprocal energy exchange, which I believe is the heart of theater.

In the virtual realm, it’s hard to capture the same essence. What I think needs to happen is we need to realize that if it’s using Zoom or other online platform, we’re creating in a virtual way another form of art. A technological form of storytelling, but it’s not theater.

In this new realm, we shouldn’t be trying to emulate the theatrical standard, but create a new way of telling story. Some people will say “what about streaming?” like National Theatre Live does. In this stay-at-home time, I have appreciated that format, but it’s more of a documentation of theater. It’s still not the same experience of attending theater when you’re actually in the audience. I appreciate that documentation and have enjoyed the archival productions. It’s a way of seeing something (in London, as an example) I wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise.

One (online) performance that was created that wasn’t trying to create theater, but used an online platform (in an excellent way), is Hershey Felder, who just did a

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benefit performance staged in his home in Italy. He set it up like the set of his play that he does about Irving Berlin.

He performed the whole (Irving Berlin) show, but working with his team, they took advantage of the platform. It was livestream but they intercut his live performance with video images that integrated different characters that he talks about. They were able to find archival videos and hear their voices, like (the singer) Ethel Waters singing an Irving Berlin song. It became a beautiful meld of live theater mixed with video.

Out of all the things I’ve seen at this time, I appreciated this the most.

In the pre-show, Felder had Berlin’s family chat on screen from wherever they were in the world. It wasn’t trying to be theater, but it was using that platform for a new reality. In this way, it was different than what can work well in theater, and it’s an example. Some people are trying to emulate a live theatrical performance instead.

Danielle Mohlmann’s play Nexus is another innovation. (NOTE: Danielle Mohlmann, a local playwright, worked with several pairs of actors to perform her work on Zoom over the last weeks.) Two people who are sheltering in place do a play about two people who have a relationship over time. Actors in couples around the country, rehearsed and performed it on their own and each of them with a slightly different take.

People ended up seeing it several times.

Danielle asked people to keep their audio unmuted so the actors could hear if people were laughing or responding.

(There was an online NYC performance of) Significant Others, by Joshua Harmon.

You could tell the actors tried desperately to connect with each other, but it’s not the

same. Shows that are not meant for Zoom, you have to consider if it’s going to work.

Solo shows are the most easily adaptable, but any two-person show, unless they build on the concept of two people who are sheltering in-person, will be difficult and I don’t think that works as well.

Whatever imagination can bring will create what can be done with the uniqueness of this platform. For instance, Irene Fornes’ Fefu and Her Friends is written for the audience going into different rooms so that eventually you get to see all the scenes.

I can imagine someone writing a play and using Zoom meeting rooms where individual actors are doing their monologue or scene and you rotate people through the rooms and then come back all together.

Where Zoom has more possibilities is where work can be workshopped, because we can’t rehearse and perform on stage.

More theaters are doing readings. It’s still not ideal, but it’s provided a way to rehearse and hear the script out loud. That’s of huge value because new work development sometimes gets short shrift. We don’t always have a lot of time to rewrite and hear our scripts.

It’s a good time for theater to use this time to build scripts for when theater reopens.

It seems to be more a meld of film acting, where the actor has to imagine the scene partner in their head, in order for an audience to believe that the actor is talking to someone in the same room.

Looking at what we can do now is going to get us farther than looking backwards.

What is possible and what we can make now is what is going to create this new world.

Artists are creative and I think there are whole worlds of possibilities that may come out that we haven’t even imagined yet.

May 29, 2020

Seattle Gay News 17

BOOKS

KCLS annual Summer Reading Program moves online

ISSAQUAH, WA (May 26, 2020) – The King County Library System (KCLS) is pleased to offer its annual Summer Reading Program online this year while KCLS Libraries continue to remain closed to help slow the spread of COVID-19. For those up to the challenge, KCLS encourages residents of all ages to read 1,000 minutes from June 1 to August 31.

Residents can participate in hundreds of fun and educational online activities throughout the summer with arts and crafts, music, and magic programs; Story Times; STEM learning opportunities; and a variety of literary events. Visit kcls.org/ summer for the most up-to-date information on events and activities.

“KCLS’s Summer Reading Program may look different this year, but we are committed to keeping children’s minds active and engaged while school is out to help prevent the ‘summer slide,’” said KCLS Executive Director Lisa Rosenblum. “KCLS staff

Photo courtesy of KCLS

have worked hard to redesign this multifaceted program into a fully virtual experience.

We hope residents enjoy the programming and have fun reading this summer. ” This year’s theme is “Imagine Your Story,” and participants are invited to unlock their imaginations and embark on a reading adventure of their choosing. Reading to someone or listening to an audiobook also counts toward their minutes. Everyone

who reads for 500 minutes or more can enter a raffle for a prize package of books, and one winner will be chosen from each library location after August 31.

Past participants will recognize the online app, Beanstack, from previous years’ reading challenges. Patrons may use Beanstack to log their reading hours, or they can choose to print a downloadable reading log to track hours instead.

With KCLS investing more funds in its digital collection during the closure, there are more e-books and audiobooks to choose from, and a variety of titles to help patrons reach their reading goals. Participants looking for inspiration can browse through a selection of book recommendations curated by KCLS staff to find great titles and get started.

“In this difficult time, the need for connection and community is even more acute,” added KCLS Youth and Family Services Manager Rekha Kuver. “Although we

are physically distant from one another, we will continue to provide meaningful ways for people to come together online as a community of readers and learners.”

Founded in 1942, the King County Library System (KCLS) is one of the busiest public library systems in the country. Serving the communities of King County (outside the City of Seattle), KCLS currently has 50 libraries and more than 700,000 cardholders. In 2019, residents checked out more than 5.6 million digital e-books and audiobooks through Rakuten OverDrive, making KCLS the number 3 digital circulating library in the world. In 2011, KCLS was named Library of the Year by Gale/Library Journal.

Courtesy of KCLS

Lambda Literary does Pride with a series of online readings and conversations throughout June Join Lambda Literary as we celebrate Pride Month with some of our community’s most fabulous stars.

Highlighting the transformative power of literature, an eclectic mix of actors, writers, and comedians will participate in a series of online readings and conversations throughout June.

Nico Tortorella reads from books that have inspired them Thursday, June 11, 2020 8:00 PM ET (5pm PDT) Actor and writer Nico Tortorella reads from works of literature that inspires them.

All events are pay what you wish. Suggested donation is $10 to $100. All proceeds benefit Lambda Literary.

Pride Month is here! Self-isolation does not mean we can’t be our spectacular selves, so let’s be (virtually) fabulous together. https://www.lambdaliterary.org/pride2020/

Nico Tortorella – Photo by Victoria Matthews

Ryan Jamaal Swain reads Edmund White & original work Tuesday, June 16, 2020 8:00 PM ET (5pm PDT) Actor and writer Ryan Jamaal Swain discusses his favorite books, as well as his own writing.

Wilson Cruz – Photo by David Miller

Wilson Cruz reads Paul Monette Thursday, Jun 4, 2020 8:00 PM ET (5pm PDT) Wilson Cruz reads and discusses the groundbreaking work of author, poet and activist Paul Monette.

Wilson Cruz is an American actor known for playing Rickie Vasquez on “My So-Called Life,” Angel in the Broadway tour production of Rent and Dr. Hugh Culber on Star Trek: Discovery. Throughout his career, Cruz has served as a fierce advocate for gay youth, especially gay youth of color.

Samantha Irby – Photo courtesy of Lambda Literary

Glennon Doyle – Photo by Amy Paulson

18 Seattle Gay News

Ryan Jamaal Swain – Photo courtesy of Lambda Literary

Samantha Irby & Glennon Doyle in conversation Tuesday, June 9, 2020 8:00 PM ET (5pm PDT) The two bestselling writers discuss the collective life we are living right now.

Samantha Irby is an American comedian and NYT bestselling author. She runs the blog bitches gotta eat. She is the author of four books, most recently Wow, No Thank You, an instant bestseller. Irby also cohosted the live lit show “Guts and Glory” in Chicago with Keith Ecker until 2015.

Glennon Doyle is the author of #1 New York Times bestsellers Untamed (a Reese’s Book Club selection) and Love Warrior (an Oprah’s Book Club selection),as well as the New York Times bestseller Carry on, Warrior. An activist and thought leader, Glennon is the founder and president of Together Rising, an all-women led nonprofit organization that has revolutionized grassroots philanthropy.

May 29, 2020

Nico Tortorella is an actor, podcast host, seeker, and dedicated champion of the LGBTQIA+ community. A noted performer on the TV show “Younger” and the lead in a forthcoming “Walking Dead” spin-off. They are the author of the memoir Space Between, which details Tortorella’s unconventional marriage, complex romantic relationships, and their journey towards living a life outside the gender binary.

Kristen Arnett – Photo courtesy of Lambda Literary

T Kira Madden – Photo courtesy of Lambda Literary

Ryan Jamaal Swain is an American actor and dancer who plays the role of Damon Richards-Evangelista in the hit FX television series “Pose.” In 2014, he wrote and starred in A Negro Writer, a one-man show about the life of American writer Langston Hughes.

Kristen Arnett & T Kira Madden in conversation Thursday, June 18, 2020 8:00 PM ET (5pm PDT) The acclaimed authors discuss writing their recently released books.

Kristen Arnett is the NYT bestselling author of the debut novel Mostly Dead Things (Tin House, 2019) which was listed as one of The New York Times top books of 2019, and a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award in lesbian fiction. Arnett is a former Lambda Fellow. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, North American Review, The Normal School, Gulf Coast, TriQuarterly, Guernica, and Buzzfeed.

T Kira Madden is a lesbian APIA writer, photographer, and amateur magician living in New York City. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a BA in design and literature from Parsons School of Design and Eugene Lang College. She is the author of the memoir Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls.

Madden is a 2017 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in nonfiction literature.

Celebrating 46 Years!

Seattle Out & Proud and Third Place Books host online book reading and conversation with Eric Cervini June 1st at 7pm Based on firsthand accounts, recently declassified FBI records, and forty thousand personal documents, The Deviant’s War unfolds over the course of the 1960s, as the Mattachine Society of Washington [D.C.], the group Kameny founded, became the first organization to protest the systematic persecution of gay federal employees. It traces the forgotten ties that bound gay rights to the Black Freedom Movement, the New Left, lesbian activism, and trans resistance. Above all, it is a story of America (and Washington, D.C.) at a cultural and sexual crossroads; of shocking, byzantine public battles with Congress; of FBI informants; murder; betrayal; sex; love; and ultimately victory.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Eric Cervini is an award-winning historian of LGBTQ+ politics and culture.

He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College and received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Scholar.

To pre-register for the FREE online event June 1 at 7pm and to purchase and get your book signed: 1) Visit Third Place Books at https://www.

thirdplacebooks.com/book/9780374139797 2) Submit your receipt at https://ericcervini.com/preorder/ 3) Receive a limited edition custom bookplate, signed by Eric, to place in your book!

To support Seattle Out & Proud, visit https://www.seattlepride.org/donate PRAISE FOR … “[Kameny’s] is a fascinating story, and Cervini does it more than ample justice in this insightful, meticulously detailed book. He has clearly done a remarkable job of research, creating an absolutely indispensable, highly readable work of history that belongs in every library.” – Booklist (starred review) “Eric Cervini’s work is an important contribution to making our nation’s history whole and truthful. Grounded in extensive research, it tells the history of Frank Kameny’s tenacious and courageous battle with the federal government to secure respect, dignity and equality for gays and lesbians.

see CERVINI page 20

Eric Cervini – Photo courtesy of the author

THE DEVIANT’S WAR: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America

by Eric Cervini Farrar, Straus and Giroux 512 pages From a young Harvard- and Cambridgetrained historian, the secret history of the fight for gay rights that began a generation before Stonewall.

In 1957, Frank Kameny, a rising astronomer working for the U.S. Defense Department in Hawaii, received a summons to report immediately to Washington, D.C. The Pentagon had reason to believe he was a homosexual, and after a series of humiliating interviews, Kameny, like countless gay men and women before him, was promptly dismissed from his government job. Unlike many others, though, Kameny fought back.

Nicole Byer reads from her own work Tuesday, June 23, 2020 8:00 PM ET (5pm PDT) Multitalented performer Nicole Byer reads from her forthcoming book.

Nicole Byer – Photo courtesy of Lambda Literary

Nicole Byer is an actress, comedian and writer. Her book #VERYFAT #VERYBRAVE: The Fat Girl’s Guide to Being #Brave and Not a Dejected, Melancholy, Down-in-the-Dumps Weeping Fat Girl in a Bikini is out in June 2020. She hosts the hit baking show “Nailed It on Netflix” and has a sitcom loosely based on her life streaming on Facebook Watch called “Loosely Exactly.” Nicole. Byer also hosts a podcast called “Why Won’t You Date Me.” Chani Nicholas & Jacob Tobia in conversation Thursday, June 25 8:00 PM ET (5pm PDT) The two authors chat about navigating the writing life.

Chani Nicholas – Photo courtesy of Lambda Literary

Jacob Tobia – Photo courtesy of Lambda Literary

Chani Nicholas is a Los Angeles-based New York Times best-selling astrologer and author of You Were Born For This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance (HarperOne, January 2020). She has been a counseling astrologer for more than 20 years, guiding her community of over 1 million monthly readers to discover and live out their life’s purpose through understanding their birth chart. She has been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and on Netflix.

Jacob Tobia is an actor, writer, producer, and author of the national bestselling memoir Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story with Putnam Books at Penguin Random House. From interviewing former US Presidents to giving Trevor Noah an onair makeover on “The Daily Show,” Jacob helps others embrace the full complexity of gender and own their truth, even when that truth is messy as hell.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Jane Wagner – Photo courtesy of Lambda Literary

Lili Tomlin – Photo by Jenny Risher

Jane Wagner & Lily Tomlin in conversation with Hilton Als Tuesday, June 30, 2020 8:00 PM ET (5pm PDT) Featuring a special performance from The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe NOTE: This event has been prerecorded.

Jane Wagner is one of America’s most distinguished playwrights. Wagner won a New York Drama Critics’ Circle Special Award and a New York Drama Desk Award for her Broadway success, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe; a CableAce Award for Executive Producing the film adaptation of The Search; three Grammy nominations for comedy albums she wrote with Lily Tomlin, Modern Scream, And That’s the Truth, and On Stage; and two Peabody Awards – the first for the CBS television special, “J.T.,” and ABOUT LAMBDA LITERARY For over 30 years, Lambda Literary has brought LGBTQ books into readers’ hands around the world. Today, books that center and celebrate LGBTQ life are more available than ever because of Lambda Literary.

Lambda Literary supports LGBTQ writers and readers at all stages of life, including: • Nearly 200 books and authors are celebrated each year at the Lambda Literary Awards.

• More than 2,000 students experience LGBTQ literature as part of the LGBTQ Writers-in-Schools program.

May 29, 2020

Hilton Als – Photo courtesy of Lambda Literary

the second for the ABC television special, “Edith Ann’s Christmas: Just Say Noël.”

Multi-hyphenate performer Lily Tomlin has received numerous awards, including: seven Emmys; a Tony for her one-woman Broadway show, Appearing Nitely; a second Tony for Best Actress and a Drama Desk Award for her one-woman performance in her wife’s Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.

Tomlin can currently be seen in the hit Netflix show “Grace and Frankie.”

Hilton Als became a staff writer at The New Yorker in 1994 and a theatre critic in 2002. He began contributing to the magazine in 1989, writing pieces for “The Talk of the Town.” His most recent book, White Girls, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2014, discusses various narratives of race and gender. He was awarded a Guggenheim for creative writing in 2000 and the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism for 2002-03.

• 60 up-and-coming writers join us each summer for the Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices.

• The Lambda Literary Review offers book reviews, interviews, industry news, and calls for submission, to queer book lovers.

• Thousands of book lovers attend Lambda LitFest, join our bookclub, or attend one of our public events.

For more information, visit https://www. lambdaliterary.org/ Courtesy of Lambda Literary

Seattle Gay News 19

BOOKS

CERVINI

continued from page 19 Kameny was a pioneer who helped carve a path to a new and better world for LGBTQ Americans and for our entire nation. The Deviant’s War is a compelling work which should be on the reading list for everyone who cares about the quest for full civil rights for all Americans.” – US Senator Tammy Baldwin “Eric Cervini has gifted us that rarest of treasures, a guidebook for real activism.

Page by page, in painstaking detail, we see our flawed and beautifully idealistic hero Frank Kameny fight for basic human rights.

Equal parts inspiring and sobering, The Deviant’s War avoids empty valorizing and focuses instead on what it takes to survive in a world that wants to erase you. Should be required reading for queer people and straight allies.” – Garrard Conley, author of Boy Erased “When Frank Kameny was dismissed from his job in 1957, the army lost an astronomer and the cause of freedom gained a general. For the next fifty years, having found his real life’s work, Kameny stood on every front line of the gay rights movement. Because of him, more than anyone else, hundreds of thousands of federal employees – including soldiers – now go off each morning, without fear, to earn their livings and serve their country. The Deviant’s War thrillingly gives Kameny his due, putting this brave, sometimes impossible, iron-willed man at the center of an epic struggle for liberty.” – Thomas Mallon, author of Fellow Travelers

Photo courtesy of the author

“A detailed and engrossing look at Frank Kameny and his decades-long fight to convince the government and society that, in his words, Gay is Good.” – Jim Obergefell, gay rights activist and plaintiff in Obergefell v. Hodges

“The Deviant’s War is a work of striking courage, exposing not only the great nemeses to homosexual freedoms but also the queer turncoats and quislings who exploited a closeted world. Frank Kameny, a central figure in American LGBT+ canon heretofore relegated to the sidelines, finally has a biography of the caliber he deserved.

For this ambitious debut, Cervini is to be lauded.” – Robert Fiesler, author of Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation “Before Gay Rights, there was Gay Liberation, and before that, the Homophile Movement. Eric Cervini’s much needed history of this foundational political formation reveals that highly alienated individuals – whose gifts and talents were rejected because of their homosexuality – found the courage to demand change. Through direct confrontation with the state, these demeaned men and women insisted on paradigm shifts in thinking that cost them dearly. Yet they tolerated stigma, poverty and anti-social labels to literally force the country to transform. An exciting and highly readable history.” – Sarah Schulman “The Deviant’s War offers a fast-paced narrative of the early years of the gay rights movement, focusing on the pivotal role of reluctant activist Frank Kameny. Through a careful reading of the sources, Cervini provides fascinating stories and, ultimately, a fresh new interpretation of this important gay rights leader.” – David K. Johnson, author of The Lavender Scare “Ambitious and exhaustive . . . Readers interested in the origins of the LGBTQ rights movement will be deeply informed by this meticulous account.” – Publishers Weekly Courtesy of Seattle Out & Proud and Third Place Books

GAMES

Remembering Lynn Across 1 Mark Bingham of 9/11 5 “I ___ Kick Out of You” 9 Desperate cry 13 Bird, to Brutus 14 Come together 16 Estimating words 17 Kerry, who plays Mia on 48-/64-Across 19 Animal that’s no breeder 20 Martin of Grace and Frankie et al.

21 Without pausing 23 Where to look, in “Misty” 25 Women on top, at times 26 Intelligence agent 29 Reese who plays Elena on 48-/64-Across 34 Word before kwon do 35 Guy into bottoms?

36 Cosï fan ___ 37 Series ender 39 Anne of Girls in Prison 42 The L.A. Sparks strip them 43 Cruising, maybe 45 Georgetown athlete 47 Eligible for soc. sec.

48 With 64-Across, Hulu series directed

by Lynn Shelton (1965-2020) 51 Tax-collecting agcy.

52 Bear market order 53 Boats like Noah’s 55 Ax wielder 59 Trojan War hero killed by Achilles 63 “And another thing...”

64 See 48-Across 66 Taylor of Six Feet Under 67 “Air Music” composer Ned 68 Ethnic acronym

20 Seattle Gay News

69 Tie it to become wife and wife 70 Straddled a stallion 71 Israeli author Oz Down 1 Hesitating sounds 2 Porter’s “Well, Did You ___” 3 Get out of bed 4 Actor Milo of Oz 5 Professional who helps you shoot off 6 W. H. Auden’s tongue 7 Jermaine and Michael’s brother 8 When sex addicts need it 9 Like Gomer’s humor 10 Plenty, informally 11 Lounge about 12 Chicken, to a chickenhawk 15 Penetrate 18 Bisected 22 Ellen, for one 24 Ending for Jean 26 Get to second base, perhaps 27 Evita portrayer on stage 28 It helps a baker get it up 30 Part of Saigon’s current name 31 Cheri of Scary Movie 32 Skinny bear 33 Egg holders 38 Cole Porter song from Paris 40 Time for Frida 41 “Bear” and “rear,” e.g.

44 Britten’s beers 46 Cockeyed 49 Recipient of Bugs’ kisses 50 Fruit, to Froot Loops 54 E with a queer orientation 55 Result of four balls 56 Brothers & Sisters producer Ken

May 29, 2020

57 Northern metropolis 58 Burning software 60 The Seattle Storm, for one 61 Roughly 62 Muscle Mary stat

65 Carpet color at the Oscars (Answer Key on Page 22)

Celebrating 46 Years!

Allyship - an organization of LGBTQ individuals fighting for economic and social justice. www.LGBTQAllyship. org, allyship@yahoo.com, (206) 279-8169.

American Veterans for Equal Rights - www.aver.us Another Gay Social Club! - www.meetup.com/AnotherGay-Social-Club/ Bellingham/Whatcom County - www.theslowlane. com/guide.html BiNet Seattle is a mixed gender, social group for Bisexuals, their partners & other Bi-friendly folks - www. binetseattle.org.

Bremerton/Kitsap County - www.outwestsound.org Capitol Hill Alano Club - www.chacseattle.org Cascade Rainbow Community Center (Mount Vernon) - (360) 840-8499 and on Facebook.

Central Washington University GALA Hotline: (509) 963-1994.

Channel Q 103.3 FM - LGBTQ+ Talk Radio Network News and information, pop culture and music. radio.com COLAGE unites people with LGBTQ parents and caregivers into a network of peers and supports them as they nurture and empower each other to be skilled, self-confident, and just leaders in our collective communities - www.colage.org DIFFA/Northwest (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). (206) 763-8885; www.diffanorthwest. org DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT: Crisis Clinic, (206) 461-3222 (24 hour line); King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) - 24-hour crisis line for information, support, & medical & legal assistance: 1-888-99-VOICE; Northwest Network support & advocacy for Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian & Gay Survivors of Abuse & Dating Violence, (206) 568-7777 (voice), 517-9670 (tty), www.nwnetwork.org; Pierce County Domestic Violence Helpline: Teresa, (253) 798-4166; Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities - offers on-going support groups for men: 323-1768; Seattle Police Dept Domestic Violence Unit, (206) 684-0330; State Wide Domestic Violence Hot Line, 1-800-562-6025. In an emergency call 911.

Report domestic violence and sexual assault.

Equal Rights Washington - (206) 324-2570; www. equalrightswashington.org Everett/Snohomish Cty - www.gaysnohomish.org Freely Speaking Toastmasters - www.freelyspeaking.org Gay City promotes wellness in LGBTQ communities by providing health services, connecting people to resources, fostering arts, and building community. Gay City Health Project’s Wellness Center provides anonymous & confidential HIV/STD testing. 517 E Pike St. More info or to schedule an appointment, (206) 860-6969. www.gaycity.org Gay & Lesbian National Hotline (GLNH): 1-888-THEGLNH (1-888-843-4564). Non-profit, peer-counseling, information & local resources telephone hotline for GLBT people across the country.

Generations Aging With Pride empowers elder LGBTQ adults to live with pride and dignity by promoting, connecting, and developing innovative programs and services that enhance belonging and support, eliminate discrimination, and honor the lives of older members of our community - (206) 393-3400; info@gapseattle.org; gapseattle.org GLSEN/WA - Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network - (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa.org Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) - (206) 363-9188; www.thegsba.org HIV/AIDS Program, Seattle/King County Dept of Public Health, provides confidential/anonymous information about & testing for HIV/AIDS. (206) 205-7837. For a comprehensive list of HIV/AIDS service organizations see the GSBA Guide or visit www.thegsba.org or call Lifelong AIDS Alliance, (206) 328-8979.

Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle & the Olympic & Rainier Empire - www.facebook.com/ISCSORE; www. imperialcourtofseattle.com Lambert House - (206) 322-2515; www.lamberthouse. org LGBT Library - 517 E Pike St. Open Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm. A wide range of fiction and non-fiction for the LGBT community and allies can be borrowed free of charge.

LGBT MS Connection - (425) 785-8593; lgbtmsconnections@comcast.net. Support group for LGBT persons with MS and their partners and their caregivers.

Sponsored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Lifelong AIDS Alliance - (206) 328-8979, www.lifelongaids alliance.org Lion’s Main Art Collective - www.lionsmain.org MEN: Gay City: (206) 860-6969, www.gaycity.org; Knights of Mantra: (206) 329-0886, www.jetchapterkofm.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Northwest Bears: www. nwbears.com; The Olympians: www.TheOlympians. net; POZSeattle: www.pozseattle.com; Q-Squared: www.qsquared.org; Rain City Jacks: www.raincityjacks. org; Seattle Gay Couples: www. seattlegaycouples.org; Seattle Men in Leather: www.seattlemeninleather. org; Seattle Prime Timers: Gay & Bi men 40 & over, www. seattle primetimers.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

MUSIC: Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; Rainbow City Band: 1-866-841-9139 ext 2126; rainbowcityband@onebox.com; www.rainbowcity band. com; Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus: (206) 388-1408, (206) 323-0750. www.seattlechoruses.org.

Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project - gayhistnw@aol.com

Sponsors Tacoma Pride Festival. (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org SEAMEC interviews, researches & rates candidates for public office on issues of concern to the LGBT community. www.voteseamec.org Seattle Area Support Groups & Community Center (SASG) i- SEE LISTING for Peer Seattle.

Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network - BiSeattle.wixsite. com/SBWN and on Facebook.

Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities is a community mental health service for GLBT persons & their families providing comprehensive mental health services on a sliding scale. (206) 323-1768.

Seattle LGBTQ Commission - (206) 684-4503. www/ seattle.gov/lgbtq Seattle Out & Proud - (206) 322-9561; www.seattlepride.org Seattle Police Department Sexual Minorities Community Advisory Council: kim.bogucki@seattle.gov Seattle PrideFest - www.seattlepridefest.org Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - (202) 328-3244; www.sldn.org Sex Workers Outreach Project - https://seattle. swopusa.org Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan - (206) 860-3666; www.theabbey.org Snohomish Health District HIV/AIDS Program provides free confidential/anonymous HIV counseling & testing 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, until 7pm Tuesdays.

(425) 339-5298.

South Sound Q Calendar - LGBTQ events in Tacoma, Olympia & Sound Puget Sound area; www.SouthSoundQCal.com Spokane/Inland Northwest - www.outspokane.com; www.stonewallnews.net SPORTS & RECREATION: Bent Car Guys: www. bentcarguys.org; Border Riders Motorcycle Club: www.borderriders.com; Bottom Dwellers Scuba Club: www.bottomdwellers.org; Capitol Hill Cyclers: join their Facebook group or email capitolhillcycling@ groups.facebook.com or jordan.l.simonson@gmail.com; Cascade Flag Football: www.cascadeflagfootball.org; Cascade Flyers: www.cascadeflyers.org; Emerald City Mudhen Rugby: www.mudhenrugby.com; Emerald City Softball Association: www.emeraldcitysoftball. org, www.eteamz.com/womensecsa; Ethyl Forever Car Club: ethylforever@hotmail.com; Festival of the Babes: www.festivalofthebabes.com; Olympic Yacht Club: www.oycnw.org; OutVentures: outdoor education & recreation activities, www.outventures.org; Pacific Northwest Gay Rodeo Association: www.pacificnwgra.org; Puddletown Squares: www.puddletownsquares.org; Rain City Soccer: www.raincitysoccer.org; Rain Country Dance Association: a country-western dance organization catering to the LGBTQ community but open to all, www.raincountrydance.org; Sea Dawgs: LGBT ice hockey - SkateSeaDawgs@gmail.com and on Facebook; Seattle Frontrunners: www.seattlefrontrunners.org; Seattle Gay Basketball Association: www. seattlegaybasketballassociation.com; Seattle Orca Swim Team: www.orcaswimteam.org; Seattle Otters Water Polo: www.otterpolo.com; Seattle Quake Rugby: www.quakerugby.com; Seattle Tennis Alliance: www. seattletennisalliance.org; Seattle Unified Bowling Association (SUBA): magee98106@aol.com, www. teamseattle.org/bowling.htm, www.theprideleague. com, Century 21 League; Seattle Volleyball Club: www.seattlevolleyballclub.com; Ski Buddies: www. skibuddies.org; Team Seattle Gay Sports Network is an umbrella organization for a wide range of local GLBT sports activities, (206) 367-4064, www.teamseattle.org (see website for comprehensive list of sports clubs); Triangle Recreation Camp at Bender Creek: recreational camping for GLBT folks. Must be 21; ID required. trc@ camptrc.org, www.camptrc.org, 1122 E Pike St #1069, Seattle 98122-3934.

Strength Over Speed - www.strengthoverspeed.org Tacoma/Pierce County - Rainbow Center, 2215 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, a resource center for the LGBTIQA community of Pierce County, (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org Three Dollar Bill Cinema - TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival; Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival; Outdoor Cinema at Cal Anderson Park. www. threedollarbillcinema.org TRANSGENDER: Emerald City Social Club: (425) 827-9494; Gender Alliance of the South Sound: www.

SouthSoundGender.com; Gender Diversity: www. genderdiversity.org; Gender Justice League: www.genderjusticeleague.org; Gender Odyssey: www.genderodyssey.com; Hermanos Trans Latino & Foreign-Born

Support Group: (206) 322-7700; Ingersoll Gender Center: (206) 329-6651, www.ingersollcenter.org; Lion’s Main Art Collective: www.lionsmain.org; The New BoyZ Club: www.olympiaftmgroup.webs.com; Olympia Trans Discussion Group: www.facebook.com/pages/ Olympia-Trans-Discussion-Group/262449878114; [trans] ACTION: Trans* & Gender Non-Conforming Sex Workers’ Support Group - a safe, peer-led space. mail@utopiaseattle.org; TRANSform Washington: transformwashington.com; Trans Resource & Referral Guide: kctransguide.org; Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network: Funding the collective liberation of Trans women of color – https://m.facebook.com/ TWOCSolidarityNW/; Washington Gender Alliance: (360) 445-2411, www.washington genderalliance.com WOMEN: Aging Ballard Lesbian Exchange (A.B.L.E.): We are Lesbians 60 years (generally) and up, living (mostly) in the north half of Seattle. The purpose of the group is to connect, socialize and support each other. ruthemilyvogel@gmail.com; Aging Lesbians in South Seattle (ALISS) - Lesbian Group at the Southeast Seattle Senior Center. This is a gathering primarily for Lesbians but all are welcome to attend. Kate, (206) 722-0317; www.sessc.org; BABES: support groups for HIV+ women. (206) 720-5566, 1-888-292-1912; Coming Out Women Support Group of Tacoma: www. comingoutwomen.org; Festival of the Babes: www. festivalofthebabes.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Puget Sound Old Lesbian Organizing for Change: http:// psoloc.org, (253) 777-3357; Older Lesbians Organizing for Change/WA State Chapter: gloria@oloc.org, mary@oloc.org, www.oloc.org; Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives: www.pnwlesbianarchives.org; RainshadowWomen: RainshadowWomen@aol. com; Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network: BiSeattle. wixsite.com/SBWN; Seattle Girls of Leather: www. sgol.org; Tacoma Lesbian Concern (TLC): www.tacomalesbianconcern.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org; Women of West Seattle (WOWS): a fun, member-driven social group for Lesbians, http:// groups.yahoo.com/group/womenofwestseattle; YWCA Women’s Health Outreach: providing low or no-cost mammograms for income eligible 40+ LBTQ individuals. Follow us at http://lbtqhealth-ywca.blogspot.com, twitter.com/ingridWHO or email lbthealth@ywcaworks. org, (206) 461-4493. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

YOUTH: B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans & Questioning Adolescent Drop-In Group): Youth Eastside Services offers many programs for GLBT youth, including B-GLAD, (425) 747-4937; Coyote Central: www.coyotecentral.org; Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; GLSEN/Washington State (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) & Washington State GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network: GLSEN works to create safe schools for LGBT students. WA GSA Network supports youth-led GSA’s to fight harassment & homophobia in Washington state schools. (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa. org; www.wagsa.org. GLOBE (GLBTQ Loving Ourselves, Becoming Empowered): a support group & HIV/STD prevention program for GLBTQ youth, 14-20, in Everett, (425) 263-2908, www. globeyouth.org; It Gets Better Project: www.itgetsbetter.org; Lambert House: an activities & resource center for LGBT youth, 14-22, 1818 15th Ave @ E Denny Way, with additional support groups organized in smaller towns throughout King County, (206) 322-2515, www. lamberthouse.org; Lifelong HEYO (Health Education Youth Outreach): for LGBTQ youth, ages 16-24: (206) 957-1665; www.llaa.org/HEYO; www.MatthewsPlace. com; The Mockingbird Society: (206) 323-KIDS (5437), www.mockingbirdsociety.org; New Horizons: social services and shelter for homeless youth, 2708 3rd Ave (in Belltown), (206) 374-0866, http://namin.org; Oasis Youth Center: for GLBTQ youth, ages 14-25, in Tacoma, (253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcenter. org; OKAY! LGBTQ+ Outreach for Kent Area Youth: (253) 859-0699 ext 3034. OKAY! is an open support group for youth ages 13-19 who identify as LGBTQ+. A program of Kent Youth & Family Services; OUT There Adventures: www.outthereadventures.org; Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)/ Puget Sound: (206) 325-7724, www.seattle-pflag.org; Pizza Klatch: weekly lunchtime support groups for LGBTQ youth in Thurston County, www.pizzaklatch. org; Prism: for LGBTQ youth, 14-21, in Puyallup Cherise.Alexander@ multicare.org; www.facebook. com/PuyallupPrism; Proud Out Wonderful (POW!): for LGBTQ youth, 13-21, in South King County, (206) 326-9112, www.facebook.com/proudoutwonderful; Q Youth Resources: in Kitsap County - (360) 698-3335; www.kchaf.org; Roots Young Adult Shelter: 1415 NE 43rd St., (206) 632-1635; www.rootsinfo.org; Safe Schools Coalition: www.safeschoolscoalition.org; (206) 451-SAFE, (206) 451-7233 (non-emergency), 1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) (crisis line); Seattle Young People’s Project (Queer Youth Resource Board): (206) 860-9606, www.sypp.org; Street Youth Ministries (SYM): (206) 524-7301 ext 111; www. streetyouthministries.org; Teen Link: (206) 461-4922, 1-888-431-TEEN; The Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor; www.thetrevorproject.org; True Colors - Connecting LGBTQ Teens: in Shoreline, (206) 362-7282 x 8018, lbagley@chs-nw.org; The Vera Project: fuels personal & community transformation through collaborative youthdriven engagement in music and art. (206) 956-8372; theveraproject.org; Vista Youth Center: for LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth, ages 14-21, in Kennewick, (509) 396-5198, www.vistayouthcenter.org; YouthCare/ Isis Program (Transitional Living Home for LGBTQ Young Adults, 18-22): (206) 522-8412; YouthCare/ Orion Center Young Adult Shelter: 1828 Yale Ave @ Stewart St. (206) 622-5555; Youth in Focus: (206) 723-1479; www.youthinfocus.org; Youth Suicide Prevention Program (OUTLoud-GLBTQ): (206) 297-5922, ext 116, 1-800-273-TALK, www.yspp.org

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Seattle Gay News 21

community resources Northwest Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf - www. nwrad.org Olympia/Thurston County - www.RainbowCenterOly. org Out & Equal Workplace Advocates/Seattle Regional Affiliate supports the work of LGBT employees and the growing number of ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) making a difference within local companies, including Alaska Airlines, Amazon.com, Amgen, AT&T, Bank of America, Deloitte, Macy’s, Microsoft, Russell Investments, Safeco Insurance, Starbucks Coffee, Xerox. www.outandequal.org/affiliates/seattle Out & Proud Grays Harbor Coalition - http://outandproudgh.org PARENTHOOD: Families Like Ours provides a gateway for LGBT families interested in adoption & provides a network of safe placement agencies, training, support & resources: (206) 441-7602, www.familieslikeours. org; Family Works offers support, information & activities for LGBT families: (206) 694-6727, www.familyworksseattle. org; Gay Fathers’ Association of Seattle offers support groups & social activities: www.gfas. org; Proud & Loud Families - Northwest, www.meetup.com/proudand-loud-families-northwest, plfnorthwest@aol.com; Queer Parent Networking Dinners: (206) 568-7777, qpnd@nwnetwork.org, www.nwnetwork.org; Rainbow Families of Puget Sound: www.rainbowfamiliesps.org PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality with chapters in Seattle, Bellevue/Eastside, the Puget Sound region and across Washington state. PFLAG Seattle: (206) 325-7724, info@pflagseattle.org, and www.pflagseattle.org; PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside: (425) 483-6642, info@bellevue-pflag.org, http://community. pflag.org/PFLAGBellevue; PFLAG Pacific Northwest: www.pnwpflag.org; PFLAG Washington State Council: www.pflagwsc.org.

Peer Seattle (formerly Seattle Area Support Groups) is a non-profit organization that builds community and cultivates powerful, healthy lives by providing emotional support and personal development services to those affected by HIV/AIDS, the Queer communities, and those who love them. Our work is done in a spirit of safety, trust, inclusiveness, and celebration of individual differences.

(206) 322-2437; www.peerseattle.org PEOPLE OF COLOR: AARTH (African American Reach & Teach Health Ministry), (206) 850-2070, www.aarth.org; Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Network Program at API Chaya, (206) 467-9976; Center for MultiCultural Health, (206) 461-6910, www.multiculturalhealth.org; Entre Hermanos, GLBT Latinos/as, (206) 322-7700, www.entrehermanos.org; Ile LaiLai, (206) 781-3565, iya@ilelailai.org; Men of All Colors & Cultures Together (MACCT), (206) 923-8313, macctseattle@yahoo.com, www.macctsea.org; Northwest Two Spirit Society, https://www.facebook.com/ groups/nw2spiritsociety/, Nubian Pride Productions, nubianpride@gmail.com; People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) offers rapid HIV testing, M-F, 10am-5pm, (206) 322-7061, www.pocaan.org and on Facebook; QBASS - Queer Black Alliance of the South Sound, (253) 256-1846, weareqbass@gmail. com; Sistah 2 Sistah, LBT women of African descent, (206) 322-7061, (206) 255-8951; Somos Seattle, somosseattle.org; Trikone-Northwest, GLBT South Asians, (425) 985-4376, www.trikonenw.org; Two-Spirit Honor Project, 1-866-685-0164; U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, www.utopiaseattlewa.org; VietQ Greater Seattle, vietqorganization@gmail.com Pierce County AIDS Foundation - (253) 383-2565; www.piercecountyaids.org Pride Foundation - (206) 323-3318; www.pridefoundation. org Pride Lives - www.facebook.com/PrideLives/ Pride Radio 93.3 HD2 Project NEON is a program of Seattle Counseling Service providing FREE information & services to Gay & Bi men to reduce health risks associated with methamphetamine use. (206) 323-1768. www.crystalneon.org Public Health-Seattle & King County Online Comprehensive Health Information for Sexual Minorities: www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/ glbt.aspx Q Law: The GLBT Bar Association of WA - (206) 682-6711; www.q-law.org Q Law GLBT Legal Clinic - (206) 235-7235.

Queer Geek! - queergeekseattle.org Rainbow Center - Resource Center for Tacoma/Pierce County LGBTIQA community. Through education, advocacy and celebration, the Rainbow Center expands resources, and safe space for the LGBTQIA community.

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Seattle Gay News 23