SGN November 26, 2021

ISSUE 4 8

C E L E B R AT I N G

VOLUME 49

47 YEARS

F R I D AY

IN

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

PRINT S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q I A + N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY S I N C E 19 74

CITY OF TACOMA ACKNOWLEDGES TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

by Hannah Saunders SGN Contributing Writer During an online Nov. 16 Tacoma City Council meeting, a proclamation was issued to acknowledge Nov. 20 as Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), and Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards read it.

see TACOMA page 5

Photo courtesy of The Rainbow Center

Harrell announces transition team LGBTQ+ leaders to work directly with four committees

Richland florist finally pays up Homophobe drops appeal and settles suit

Photo courtesy of Bruce for Seattle

by Paige McGlauflin SGN Contributing Writer Mayor-elect Bruce Harrell recently announced his transition team and structure as he prepares to take office early next year. He is seeking input from a diverse coalition of voices as he builds his administration and hundred-day and year-one agendas, leading what his team has dubbed the most “racially and ideologically diverse mayoral transition team in Seattle history.”

“Inclusion was really a priority throughout the entire process of putting together these teams, and we’re still continuing to add members as we speak,” Jamie Housen, an associate with Northwest Passage Consulting working with Harrell’s team, told the SGN. “The mayor-elect really wanted to make it a priority that we’d have members of as many communities as possible at the table.”

Harrell won the Nov. 2 mayoral election by 19 percentage points over M. Lorena

see HARRELL page 6

Barronelle Stutzman – Photo courtesy of ADF

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Baronelle Stutzman, the Richland florist whose refusal to provide flowers for a samesex wedding touched off nearly a decade of legal wrangling, has finally paid up.

Stutzman agreed on November 19 to drop her final appeal to the US Supreme Court and settle the case with a $5,000 payment to plaintiffs Curt Freed and Robert Ingersoll.

The case began in 2013 when Freed and

Ingersoll tried to order flowers for their wedding from Stutzman’s shop, Arlene’s Flowers. Stutzman turned them down, saying it was against her religion to recognize same-sex marriage.

The couple complained to the Washington State Human Rights Commission, charging Stutzman with violating the state’s civil rights laws. The commission agreed, and when Stutzman refused to settle the complaint, sued her.

see STUTZMAN page 6

GREEN CARDS • VISAS • ASYLUM • CITIZENSHIP 1836 Westlake Ave N, Suite 302 Seattle, WA 98109

(206) 724-1940 olivielaw.com

Episode 13: James & Jamesy In this episode, Lindsey and Ash browse our very special Holiday issue! We also talk about Kyle Rittenhouse and Milo Yiannopoulos, Jesus, existential ennui, and sex shops.

Our special guests this episode are Aaron Malkin and Alistair Knowles, the creative & comedic masterminds behind James & Jamesy, whose annual Christmas show O Christmas Tea hits the Neptune theater on Nov. 30!

BI-WEEKLY! FIND US WHEREVER YOU LISTEN TO PODCASTS! 2

SGN

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

ORIGINALLY SEATTLE GAY NEWS FOUNDED 1974 MEMBER

509 10th Ave E Seattle, WA 98102 (206) 324-4297 sgnpaper@gmail.com sgn.org

2021

Deadlines 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

Publisher Angela Cragin Managing Editor A.V. Eichenbaum Copy Editor SGN Staff • Richard Isaac Advertising Maggie Bloodstone, Advertising Manager National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Staff Writers Mike Andrew • Sara Michelle Fetters Contributing Writers Lindsey Anderson • Janice Athill Josephine Baird • Alice Bloch Maggie Bloodstone Kylin Brown • Sharon Cumberland Carter Hemion • Daniel Lindsley Paige McGlauflin • Tim Peter Jessica Price • Renee Raketty • Nick Rapp Hannah Saunders • Gaysha Starr Sarah Toce • Ed Walsh Social Media Manager SGN Staff Cartoonist Ken Campbell Photographers Nate Gowdy • Renee Raketty Production Mike Pham SGN is published by Angela Cragin. © 2021. 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.

Opinions expressed in bylined articles, columns, and letters are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or management of this paper.

SGN welcomes unsolicited material, including letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or reject material. All rights revert to authors upon publication.

We assume no liability for loss or damage of materials, solicited or not. We invite feedback, please write.

And please play safe.

It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your ad. Credit will be given for the balance owed.

No exceptions.

In Loving Memory Of George Bakan

Scott Roger Alpert Cookie Andrews-Hunt James Arnold Steve Foiles Shaun Knittel James Leland Moore Don Paulson Randy Peters Lee Richeson Shaun Shelton Jim Tully

Follow SGN

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

In this Issue

LOCAL NEWS 4 A&E • FILM 15 BOOKS 17 OP-ED 20 NATIONAL NEWS 21 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 21 NOVEMBER 26, 2021

SGN

3

Local News

Zoey Martinez’s family and friends speak out on Trans Day of Remembrance

Photo by Renee Raketty

by Hannah Saunders SGN Contributing Writer The Diversity Alliance of Puget Sound (DAPS) held a memorial and candlelight vigil on the Transgender Day of Remembrance at both the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma and the University Universalist Unitarian Church in Seattle.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was established in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, who wanted to commemorate the brutal murder of Rita Hester.

“The annual event, which celebrates the lives of Trans and gender-diverse individuals lost, falls on November 20 each year, and seeks to combat Trans violence, stigma, and erasure,” said Oliver Webb, chairperson of DAPS, at the Tacoma vigil.

“The most important function of TDOR is to restore dignity, to change the narrative that has been written about our loved ones after a hate crime has occurred.”

Since 2010, over 328 Transgender and gender-diverse people were murdered in the United States and territories, according to DAPS. This year has been the most devastating when it comes to such deaths. At least 56 Transgender people were killed, the majority of whom were Black or Latinx women.

Washington State lost two Trans lives this year: 20-year-old Zoella “Zoey” Martinez and 39-year-old Rikkey Outumuro.

“Behind the statistical representation of numbers and percentages, there are real people whose lives we value and whom as society has failed to protect,” Webb said.

Webb also discussed how social and sex work stigmas expose Trans people to exploitation and violence.

4

SGN

“These victims, like all of us, are loving partners, parents, family members, friends, and community members,” Webb said.

“These individuals were more than names on a list or political pawns.”

“Thank you for being beautifully brave and resilient. You are valued, and you are loved,” Webb said.

The Transgender lives lost were taken by acquaintances, partners, and strangers. In some cases, there was clear anti-Trans violence, while in other cases, they may have been put at risk in other ways, such as forced unemployment, houselessness, and survival sex work. Microaggressions and systemic barriers within society have allowed hate to fester, which leads to fatal violence.

Webb encouraged Transgender allies to use their voices to speak out against aggression and violence. He also mentioned that allies have an obligation to educate and lead by example when it comes to erasing ignorance.

Speakers The SGN’s Renee Raketty, an out Trans journalist, was the first speaker at the Tacoma event.

“I recognize I’m only one of the few Trans journalists here in the Seattle market,” Raketty said. “The truth is, if you’re not telling our stories, other people are, and too often those stories are [told] with learned bias and misinformation about our lives.”

Raketty uses her voice as a reporter to bring attention to issues in the LGBTQ+ community. Her livestream “Renee Reports” focus heavily on issues facing the Transgender and nonbinary community.

“Our lives should not be up for debate,

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

and our journeys should not be devalued,” Raketty said.

After Raketty, Sephora Commorato, interim food services director at William Booth House, took the stage. Commorato is a Black Transgender woman, and she brought up how she was slightly nervous on stage since she isn’t used to public speaking.

“My experiences are lived and survived,” Commorato said. “It’s been really hard to stop and think that I’m a statistic. In more ways than one.”

“Being a pillar for your community — that is fucking exhausting,” she added. “It’s tiring. I am tired. I am so tired of looking at the news and seeing girls’ faces that look just like mine.”

Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins and Tacoma City Councilmember Kristina Walker were also in attendance.

Zoey’s family Craig Martinez, father of Zoella “Zoey” Martinez, who was gunned down and dumped in a Seattle alley in August, also spoke.

“The reason we’re here is… somber, yet we’re connected by loved ones we all lost,” Martinez said. “Zoella was our Transgender daughter.”

Martinez brought up how, until the age of 16, Zoella went by a different name.

Prior to coming out as Trans, she was one of the best players on her school’s baseball team.

“At 16 years old, he said to his mother and me, ‘I been your son for the last 16 years. I’ll be your daughter for the next 16 years,’” Martinez said. “Transgender was not even in our vocabulary for Deb [his

wife and Zoella’s mother] and I.” Debra Martinez looked at information online and explained what she found to her husband. When it was time for Zoella to legally change her name to “Zoella Rose Martinez” at a court in Auburn, the judge made Zoella turn and thank both of her parents for being supportive. According to Craig Martinez, the judge described how rare it was for one parent to be supportive of having a Trans child, let alone both.

“Zoella was confident in who she was,” Martinez said.

One day, Zoella asked her family to come to a restaurant in Burien, where she stood up and told everyone that she was Transgender. Martinez also brought up how when Zoella began her transition, his wife surprised Zoella with her first bra and Zoella cried, because she knew her mother accepted her transition.

“Six shots. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Bang. Band,” Martinez said, as he tapped the microphone with his hand. “This is what goes through our heads now. The words from my wife the day that they found her in the alley: ‘She’s gone.’”

“Our love has been murdered,” he said, as he highlighted how bright and smart she was.

“Don’t do business alone. Don’t! Keep up,” he continued. “Let your friends be seen with you coming. Did you have to talk alone?

Your friends can sit at a table nearby. No excuses! You don’t have friends? Call your mom! It’s just somebody else being there.”

“Nothing. Nothing is worth your life.

You don’t just die, your family dies,” he added. “Stick together or we die! What?

Stick together or we die! That’s the bottom line.”

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

(from l) Vigil attendees, Craig Martinez, Kaitlyn Toppen, and Oliver Webb – Photo by Renee Raketty

Martinez’s words came off as poetic, heartbreaking, and empowering all at once.

He touched on how Zoella was murdered two minutes prior to her friend showing up to the meeting location.

“To Zoella: Life goes on, don’t it? But not how you expected it or would like it. And how would you dream how you dreamed it?

You would have shared it. Looking back has not changed it,” he said. “Dreaming of the loss just makes you hear and see it, crying, sweating, hoping. Imagine. Life gone.”

Martinez and his wife Debra will never see justice in the aftermath of their daughter’s murder. he acknowledged that life would go on, but that time simply means a fresh start.

“To our lovely child Zoella Rose Martinez: You are one of the reasons life was worth it,” he said.

Zoey’s best friend Kaitlyn Toppen was next on stage. She met Zoella when they were both in the first grade, and the two had been best friends for 15 years.

“His smile drew me in,” she said. “Even though he was six, I knew he was someone who wasn’t going to leave my side.”

When Toppen was 12 years old, she underwent multiple ear surgeries. Zoella kept her company throughout the process and recovery. One thing Zoella told her was, “You’re my best friend. Well, actually, you’re my sister. I will always be here for you, because I know you would do the same for me.”

At age 14, Zoella came out to Toppen as Gay, which was something she already knew, since Zoella played inside with Polly Pocket dolls at a young age instead of going outside in the rain. At 15, Zoella told Toppen that she was Transgender, and “Zee” was her first nickname. Toppen helped her pick our clothes found style that best suited who Zoey was.

On the day that Zoella came out as Transgender to her family, Toppen was there.

“On June 5 or 6, she announced to her whole family and that from that day forward, she was ‘Zoey,’ and anyone who

disapproved would no longer have contact with her,” Toppen said.

Toppen helped Zoella chose her name.

One day she suggested the name “Zoella Rose Martinez,” as she thought Zoey might think it to be too basic.

“But when I said it aloud, she immediately wrote it down on her name-change form,” Toppen said.

Toppen also spoke about the grief and pain she feels regarding the loss of Zoella.

“It has only been two months and 19 days since she was murdered, and I think I can speak for anyone who has gone through this before. This is the worst kind of loss you as a human will ever feel.”

“I lost my sister. I lost my sister, my most loyal, kind, courageous best friend, to someone who they thought could play god, and no matter how much I wish I could [back] turn that time and bring her back, I can’t,” Toppen said.

Toppen added that Zoella is no longer here to tell her story, but that she would stand beside Zoella’s family to forever

TACOMA

continued from cover “…This day is a reminder of the shared responsibility our community has to our Trans and gender-diverse friends, family, and neighbors,” Woodards read from the proclamation, “to continue to support them, help educate the public, fight for change, and eliminate hate-filled violence.”

Woodards described how the Transgender and gender-diverse communities are ravaged by violence due to misinformation and the removal of basic human rights and protections — all of which allows transphobia and hatred to be woven into our society.

The mayor also discussed the level of fatal violence the Trans and gender-nonconforming community has experienced this year, and that the victims were primarily Black and Latina Trans women. She acknowledged how the ongoing violence affects the psychological and physical health of the Transgender population, and how although it’s a difficult reality to recognize, it cannot be ignored.

She also brought up how the lives lost are more than just names on a list; they are community members and loved ones who were taken before their time. Woodards said she honors the lives taken every day, and the lives that are still here.

“Now therefore I, Victoria R. Woodards, mayor of the City of Tacoma, on behalf of the city council do hereby proclaim Saturday, November 20, [2021], as Transgender Day of Remembrance in the City of Tacoma and invite all members of the community to join us in observing this day and working together to improve safety for our Trans and gender-diverse neighbors by promoting acceptance and understanding,” she said, reading from the proclamation.

Woodards related how TDOR first began in 1999, with a small group wishing to memorialize the unsolved murder of Rita Hester, a Black Transgender woman who at the time was living in Allston, Massachusetts.

“Rita’s name may not be widely known,

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

Oliver Webb, Astro Pittman, and Kristina Liljengren Walker proclaiming the importance of remembering trans people who have lost their lives to violence – Photo courtesy of The Rainbow Center

but her community and family started a movement for justice as they organized in their grief to remember Rita, and to raise awareness of the violence that Transgender and gender-nonconforming people experience,” Woodards said. “While Rita’s death may have occurred more than 20 years ago, this violent reality and the dehumanization of Transgender and gender-diverse people persists still today.”

According to the mayor, over 200 cities in 21 countries across the globe observe TDOR, which mourns and honors Transgender lives that were lost due to violence.

“In this city, we pride ourselves on supporting and celebrating our LGBTQIA+ community, and that means not just celebrating with them but recognizing their challenges and hardships, such as those who we are acknowledging today,” Woodards said.

She stated that the TDOR proclamation reading was historic, yet long over-

due. Additionally, she mentioned how the Tacoma Municipal Building would raise the Transgender flag at half-mast from Nov. 19 until Nov. 21.

Mayor Woodards asked the council to join her in a virtual round of applause, and TDOR was officially acknowledged in the city of Tacoma.

A deadly year Oliver Webb, board chair of the Diversity Alliance of Puget Sound (DAPS), and Skye Locke, DAPS secretary, were among those who accepted the proclamation.

“First, thank you so much. Our organization has served the Tacoma community for nearly 18 years,” Webb said. He added how Tacoma partnered with DAPS in order to raise the flag at half-mast and invited the community to attend the TDOR event the organization was hosting.

“We want to thank the city of Tacoma

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

share her story: how she was loved and accepted by so many different people, how she wanted to make friends with complete strangers, and how she was always upfront.

“She was two weeks away from finally completing her transition before she passed.

Two weeks away from finally becoming the woman she felt she needed to be. Wherever she is now, though, she is finally the woman she wants to be,” Toppen said.

“Zoey, we miss you and we stand here to honor you and anyone else who has been through the same thing.”

Toppen also mentioned that she will forever be an ally to the LGBTQI+ community, and that Zoella inspired her to come out as bisexual.

Following the speeches, attendees went outside for the candlelight vigil, where they provided names and brief summaries of the Transgender lives that were lost to violence in the past year.

Zoella “Zoey” Martinez’s alleged murderer, Jacaree Rashad Hardy, has a hearing at the King County Superior Court on Dec. 9. and Mayor Woodards for acknowledging such an important day in our community, which so often gets overlooked,” Webb said. “This year is now officially the most deadly year for Trans and gender-diverse individuals in history.”

Webb also mentioned how the true number of violent deaths of Transgender people will never be known, due to misgendering in police reports and misreporting in the media, even by a victim’s own family. DAPS keeps a combined list between its Seattle and Tacoma locations that tracks the number of known violent deaths of Trans people.

According to Webb, in the United States and its territories, there have already been 56 violent murders of Trans and gender-nonconforming people this year (as of Nov. 16).

The list last year had 55.

“This year the Pacific Northwest lost five members, and in Washington state, we lost two Latinx Trans women, one out of Maple Valley and one out of Centralia,” Webb said.

According to Webb, Washington state has lost at least one Transgender or gendernonconforming person in each of the last three years.

“Oftentimes we think about how safe we are in the Pacific Northwest — and comparatively we are much safer, but we still see this violence. We still see our community ravaged by this hate and these murders, and we need to do better. We need to spread this awareness, and we need to understand that it happens here too,” Webb said.

He continued: “We thank you so much for spreading this awareness, for making this day an official day for letting the community know and for raising this flag, which is something that isn’t done.

“We see that flag during June, and people understand what that means, but to raise this flag for us on Friday, to make this day an official day means something. It will get people talking. It will help us know that Tacoma stands by us, and it will hopefully help educate others as we move forward, and it will help people feel safe in this city.”

SGN

5

Local News

Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed – Photo courtesy of ACLU

to hear the case, leaving the ruling against Stutzman in effect. She then filed yet another appeal, asking the Supreme Court to reconsider.

Possibly because recent high court rulings have favored LGBTQ rights, Stutzman finally dropped her appeal.

The ADF said in a statement that “a settlement agreement secured by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys with the ACLU ends a lawsuit brought against floral artist Barronelle Stutzman nearly a decade ago without forcing her to act against her religious beliefs or to pay potentially ruinous attorneys’ fees — a threat she has endured for years.

“Stutzman has chosen to retire so her beloved employees can run her business,

Arlene’s Flowers. She will withdraw a pending petition for rehearing at the US Supreme Court and make a payment of only $5,000 to the two men who sued her.”

Stutzman also issued her own statement in which she said she’d been friends with Ingersoll and provided flowers for him prior to 2013, but she “drew a line” when asked to provide flowers for his wedding to another man.

“What followed were lawsuits filed against me and a concerted effort to either force me to change my religious beliefs or pay a devastating price for believing them, including being threatened with the loss of my home, my business, and my life savings,” she said.

According to CNN, Freed and Ingersoll

will donate the $5,000 to a local PFLAG chapter, along with an additional $5,000 of their own money.

In a statement issued by ACLU, Freed and Ingersoll said, “We took on this case because we were worried about the harm being turned away would cause LGBTQ people. We are glad the Washington Supreme Court rulings will stay in place to ensure that same-sex couples are protected from discrimination and should be served by businesses like anyone else.

“We are also pleased to support our local PFLAG’s work to support LGBTQ people in the Tri-Cities area. It was painful to be turned away, and we are thankful that this long journey for us is finally over.”

ent and heard through these collaborations.

“I simply ask for an equitable seat at the table, [and that] diverse voices heard, lived experiences be shared, while focusing on a perspective that is realistic, harm-reduction based, and truly centers issues [for] the most marginalized, who are often the mostly and deeply impacted when it comes to consequences,” Manila told the SGN in an email.

“And lastly, a strengths-based and solution-focused approach to outcomes that truly benefit all,” she added. “And if not all, prioritize the most vulnerable, [the] historically, systematically, perpetually neglected when it comes to political transitions like this and ongoing strategies.”

LGBTQ+ voices LGBTQ+ leaders and organizations are expected to directly participate in four of the twelve committees.

“Having [LGBTQ voices] present not in any one single committee but in a variety of different places where those issues are present, and where their [voices are] important, and where they can provide representation and speak to the specific issues that affect LGBTQ communities, was just really important,” Housen said.

Pride at Work’s Marsha Botzer will participate in the labor and workforce committee, and Louise Chernin, former president and CEO of the Greater Seattle Business Association, will work with the small and local business committee. Neither Botzer nor Chernin responded to requests for comment on the upcoming meetings.

LGBTQ+ resource center Gay City plans to participate in the public health committee.

“I’m honored to be asked to serve on Mayor-elect Bruce Harrell’s public health transition team, and eager to see how this group can shape a public health agenda for the city that centers those currently furthest from health equity,” Fred Swanson, Gay City’s executive director, told the SGN in an email.

Drag queen, activist, and behavioral health counselor Aleksa Manila will be joining the transition team’s safety and justice committee. When asked about her expectations for these meetings, Manila said that she hopes that all voices are pres-

rell’s campaign and pointed to several proposals he made, including having public safety officers who don’t carry badges or guns and ensuring that officers are recruited from the communities they will serve.

“The idea of police reform and criminal legal system reform [has] been a priority for the mayor-elect his entire career, going back to the city council,” Housen said, referencing Harrell’s work passing Seattle’s bias-free policing law in 2017 and advocating for body cameras on Seattle police officers.

“But I think throughout the campaign, what he was able to enunciate in a way that others were not was this balance between the need for effective public safety and the need for reform, and how all these different communities all want to feel safe, and how we achieve that requires… having an effective SPD, but also one that is unbiased and reformist. So that requires a lot of different voices at the table.”

In the week following Thanksgiving, the committees will begin meeting, Housen said.

The co-leads of each committee will then hold meetings with the transition team chairs to identify mutual goals and build policies as Harrell prepares to take office in January.

6

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

STUTZMAN

continued from cover Stutzman challenged Washington’s nondiscrimination laws, claiming that her First Amendment religious rights trumped state civil rights laws. A lengthy legal battle ensued, with Stutzman represented by the anti-LGBTQ legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, and the ACLU working on the side of the Gay couple.

The Washington State Supreme Court found against Stutzman and upheld the validity of the state’s nondiscrimination laws. The florist then appealed to the US Supreme Court.

In July this year, the high court declined

HARRELL

continued from cover Gonzalez, and in January will replace Jenny Durkan, who opted to not run for reelection.

The transition team encompasses over 150 local leaders across 12 topically relevant areas: arts, culture, and nightlife; climate and environment; education and youth; government operations; housing and homelessness; labor and workforce; philanthropy; public health; safety and justice; small and local business; transportation and land use; and sports and mentorship.

Each committee will meet to identify key policies and efforts for Harrell. From there, leaders from each committee will meet with the transition team chairs to identify mutual and overlapping priorities and policy goals.

The transition team will be led by four chairs: former US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, Equal Opportunity Schools interim CEO Eddie Lincoln, Uwajimaya president and CEO Denise Moriguchi, and Sea Mar founder and CEO Rogelio Riojas.

SGN

Police reform Kim Bogucki, a Seattle police detective and co-founder of the IF Project, and DeVitta Briscoe, executive director of Not This Time, a community organization focused on policy-based policing reform and reducing fatal police shootings and violence, are also expected to participate on the safety and justice committee, as are other criminal justice reform–focused organizations and state-based public safety agencies.

When asked about having reform-focused organizations on the committee, Housen said reform was a prominent focus of Har-

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

Lifelong's Chicken Soup Brigade soldiers on Local nonprofit to hold online auction for World AIDS day

Photo courtesy of Chicken Soup Brigade

by Renee Raketty SGN Contributing Writer As we gather this week with our families to share a meal and give thanks, Lifelong and its food and nutrition program Chicken Soup Brigade (CSB) has been helping to ensure that those with chronic health conditions or who have been recently released from the hospital have plenty to be thankful for, through nutritious meals and support, delivered right to their home.

“We started in the ’80s… a response to people dying, to people being really ill, and a high level of stigma and an unwillingness of traditional supports to help people,” said Caila Nickerson, Lifelong’s director of food and nutrition. “It was just individuals stepping up and making a decision to help. So, much of that has continued to inform how we function today.

“Today, we’re definitely a much more oiled machine. We offer services through Chicken Soup Brigade. We do groceries that are nutritious and culturally relevant. We do meals that are medically tailored. We do nutrition counseling and nutrition education.”

Although the scope of services has changed, Nickerson said that maintaining the CSB name is a “nod to the service that we provide — health and comfort in sup-

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

port of the community” and because of the “history of it.”

“I feel like every, every time I meet someone new in Seattle, they’re like: ‘Oh, yeah.

I remember — like in ’91 to ’94 — I volunteered with CSB,’” Nickerson said. “I was just in a meeting the other day where there were like three women who talked about delivering food in the ’80s.

“We have a lot of long-term volunteers.

There are people who are still volunteering that share about the impact that the organization has had on them and their loved ones, and the ways in which that connected them to the community...

“Lots of lots of people who are Queer — lots of Gay, Lesbian, Queer people — have found community with the agency and with volunteering and supporting folks, especially [at] the height of the AIDS epidemic.”

“We’re trying to get the word out that while treatment has improved — people are living really long lives now, when they get on proper medication and treatment for HIV and AIDS,” added Nickerson. “But it’s still here. It’s still very much an important piece of our work. You know, we’ve always been there for people living with HIV and we always will be, especially as our community becomes more diverse and more people from other countries come to Washington.”

Origins and development The idea for CSB began during Hannukkah in 1982 when a Seattle Gay Clinic volunteer, Tim Burak, called New York to inquire about the “Buddy Network” program out of Gay Men’s Health Crisis. He had seen an outbreak of hepatitis in the Gay community and wanted to form a similar effort here. The name, Chicken Soup Brigade, was conceived after a friend of Burak’s, who needed help with taking their medication and transportation, had asked: “You think you could cook me up a little chicken soup today?’

CSB was born out of the Seattle Gay Clinic in 1983 as a way to help people living with any disabling illness to get to doctor’s appointments, to provide companionship, and to deliver groceries to them. By 1984, the focus shifted to serving people with AIDS. Burak and Josh Joshua handled referrals from physicians, clinics, and patients. The first referral came from Dr. Ann Collier at Harborview Medical Center.

Tom Speer and Will Jones filled out the first CSB volunteer corps.

However, as the volunteer effort grew, the focus shifted to food. In 1987, CSB hired its first paid staff member, Carol Sterling, who has been credited with creating a period of immense growth. She hired new staff and

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

grew the budget and volunteer base. Sterling reached the position of executive director in 1990 but stepped down to focus on fund development. A co-executive director model was then adopted. Larry Palmer became the executive director of administration while Sterling was the executive director of development.

By 1991, CSB had approximately 400 volunteers — most providing four hours a week. CSB then opened a thrift store at 207 Harvard Ave. In 1994, it hired a dietician.

In 1996, it expanded its services to include anyone who was HIV-positive. Its client base expanded from 187 (or 350, depending on which historical document you read) in 1990 to over 900 by 1997.

In June 2000, Chicken Soup Brigade and the Northwest AIDS Foundation announced their intention to merge to form the Lifelong AIDS Alliance in 2001. Today, the organization is named, simply, Lifelong, to bitter fit its changing client base and shifting mission.

(The history of the CSB was gathered by the SGN through archived webpages from CSB, Lifelong, and the City of Seattle archives.)

see CHICKEN SOUP page 8

SGN

7

Local News

CHICKEN SOUP continued from page 7

Broadened scope, new obstacles “Initially, Chicken Soup Brigade started as a bunch of volunteers and home cooks — just bringing food and other supplies to people with HIV and dying from AIDS. There was a lot of stigma and lack of access to care for those people. In the past, I think, 10 years or so, our food program really made a big shift to supporting people with all sorts of chronic illnesses,” explained Ali LeRoy, Lifelong’s senior manager of marketing and communications.

“We learned that when people were getting healthy food on a regular basis, it was helping them manage their health in different ways. About 10 years ago... a partner agency supporting people living with kidney disease asked us if we might be able to lean in and help their clients as well.

“Since then, we’ve kind of broadened our scope to support what we call medically tailored meals. So that’s looking at sodium intake, types of fats, and if it’s easily digestible for people that have swallowing difficulties, things like that. Now, we support people with a wide range of medical needs.

That could be [people] that could be going through cancer treatment, and needing to be really careful about the food that they eat…”

Lifelong’s CSB program has faced new service delivery obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic, including shifting to home delivery and moving support services to phone or virtual appointments.

Lifelong has played a critical role in another way too, according to Nickerson.

“One of our meal programs is called ‘Welcome Home.’ For folks who have been

8

SGN

recently discharged from an inpatient stay, we will deliver four weeks of 14 meals to their home within 48 hours of their discharge,” she said. “That includes folks who have had COVID-19. That’s the sort of service that we provide to people just to help them be able to recover healthfully.

“We’ve done larger things with vaccine initiatives. Our Aging and Disability Services team has done a lot of vaccine work.

We’ve done some of that across the agency, like vaccine education and supporting people in getting access to healthy food, housing, and whatever sort of education related to COVID-19 they need.”

Online auction While Lifelong gets money to deliver these services, in part, through government partners and foundations, it also relies on public support to fill the gap.

“On World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, 2021, we are having an online auction. We were going to have our in-person gala this past month but, due to the pandemic, we weren’t able to meet in person,” said Nickerson.

“So, we adjusted to this model, which includes a lot of cool items. We’ve worked with a number of local artists in the area that have either donated or produced and donated pieces kind of related to their experiences with HIV and the AIDS epidemic. We’ve got some wine tastings and fun, fun experience packages. There are lots of opportunities for folks to support our organization and get some unique finds for themselves.”

For more information about Lifelong or its auction on World AIDS Day, visit www. lifelong.org.

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

Caila Nickerson – All Photos courtesy of Chicken Soup Brigade

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

Small Business Saturday: Food sampling and holiday shopping in the ID

Photos courtesy of CIDBIA

by Nick Rapp SGN Contributing Writer Though Thanksgiving has passed, it is never too late to express gratitude and stuff yourself with far too much food. This Saturday, Nov. 27, Seattle’s Chinatown-International District neighborhood will play host to a “Small Business Saturday Food Walk” from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event offers $6 bites from over 30 restaurants, giving Seattleites the chance to sample a wide variety of foods.

The Food Walk will consist of a variety of sellers and locations. Some vendors are standalone restaurants, some are inside of the grocery store Uwajimaya, and some are food trucks.

Starting at Hing Hay Park (423 Maynard Ave. S), attendees can pick up a paper menu and “some free goodies,” according to the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area’s Instagram. There will be a Sound Transit table, where Link light rail project and public transportation questions

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

are answered for those who are curious.

Bubble tea and puff pastries will satisfy any event-goer’s sweet tooth, while savory options range from poke bowls to dumplings to rice dogs, all with a more-than-reasonable $6 price tag.

The schedule of the event allows for a perfect afternoon of casual shopping, snacking on small treats and appetizers, and maybe even finding a new favorite café. On Instagram, the CIDBIA also suggests some retail shopping in neighboring Japantown.

The Food Walk is one event of many by the organization, a “nonprofit tasked to improve the economic vitality of Seattle’s historic Chinatown-International District,” according to its website.

The CIDBIA also advertises a simultaneous event called “Meet the Maker,” at Little Saigon Creative (1227 S. Weller St., Suite A), “a community gathering space dedicated to Vietnamese culture and experiences, providing community-centered services, and… a place to socialize and dream of new ideas,” according to its website. Artists Anh and

Stacy Nguyen will sell artwork and potential holiday gifts at this pop-up event, including stickers, prints, postcards, and pins.

The CIDBIA Business improvement areas are collaborative efforts of local stakeholders, residents, and business owners who wish to address the needs of communities with funding and opinions from the inside. They do not supplant any state services but rather supplement where support is lacking, to establish thriving economies and preserve the cultural integrity of their neighborhoods. Funding comes from assessments determined by communities.

The CIDBIA started in 1994 and has grown to host many successful events, including night markets, arts and crafts fairs, and Lunar New Year food walks, to name a few. Its current success in events and advertising services hinges on the successful use of social media through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (both @ iheartid). These platforms assist in business

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

improvement efforts, as they essentially function as virtual bulletin boards.

On Instagram, posts inform community members of upcoming events, small business funds, store updates, neighborhood surveys, and even COVID-19 safety tips, making transparent many of the efforts of the CIDBIA. The collaborative planning and advertising between the CID, Japantown, and Little Saigon comes from a larger effort of the business improvement area to bolster local business activity and foster thriving community spaces in all these areas. While introducing customers to new food spots, or helping them affordably enjoy their favorite dishes, the CIDBIA is also bringing people together to sustain family businesses and local culture.

Full menu options for the Food Walk are on @iheartid’s social media accounts, as well as its website, www. seattlechinatownid.com. The website for Little Saigon Creative is flsseattle.org/ creative.

SGN

9

Arts & Entertainment

Forget Santa Claus — Ginger Minj is comin’ to town!

Drag Race alum’s Winter Wonderland tour hits the PNW in early December

by Mikey Rox Special to the SGN Ginger Minj is a busy little elf.

From her new country album Double Wide Diva to sporadic stints on TV and in movies to her upcoming book Southern Fried Sass (which reportedly scored her a six-figure deal), the Drag Race diva is everywhere these days, including a venue near you.

On Dec. 9, the new queen of Christmas will perform her holiday spectacular “Winter Wonderland” at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, followed by the Broadway Performance Hall in Seattle on Dec. 10 and 11.

I recently caught up with the multitalented actress-comedian-singer to discuss her continued success, including making friends with Jennifer Aniston while filming Netflix’s Dumplin’, her take on the latest Dave Chappelle backlash, the best Christmas gift she’s ever received, and what exactly makes her the “nicest bitch” this side of the North Pole — but first, let’s take a sleigh ride back to the beginning…

Mikey Rox: Tell me a bit about how you got started in drag and the genesis of Ginger Minj.

Ginger Minj: Like most good showtuneloving queers, I stumbled into drag through musical theater. I auditioned for a show that required either full-frontal nudity or drag, and I figured I would fare better in a wig and heels than nothing at all. I got the role and really took to it quickly. I felt more free and honest as a performer than I ever had before, and I realized I could make a livable income doing something that I was wholly responsible for creating.

MR: How has your appearance on Drag Race helped your career, and what are your top takeaways from your time on the show?

GM: It’s an international platform that allows us to introduce ourselves to the entire world. It got me a seat at the table with people and at places that refused to even open the door for me in the past.

I think there was — and maybe still is sometimes — this initial assumption that drag artists are limited in their talents, but we have been able to show the world that we are just as talented and capable as any other entertainer. I don’t wear a wig as a gimmick. I wear it as an accessory, and it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be taken as seriously as any other actor, singer, etc. Drag Race is doing a great job of showing the world that — and I’ll forever be grateful.

MR: If folks didn’t catch you on Drag Race, they might recognize you from the 2018 Netflix movie Dumplin’ starring Jennifer Aniston and Dove Cameron.

What was your experience like on set, and do you have any other TV or film projects in the works?

GM: Dumplin’ was the single best experience of my life! Jennifer Aniston brought me coffee every morning, and Kathy Najimy had my trailer moved next to hers so we could listen to Beyoncé and play with makeup. That entire cast and crew treated all of us queens with unbelievable respect.

It really gave me a passion for filmmaking.

And, yes, I’m happy to say there are a few more projects — big screen and small — coming your way soon.

MR: What makes you the “nicest bitch you’ll ever meet”?

GM: It’s like those good ol’ Southern church ladies who will give you the shirts off their backs but read you to filth for not bringing one of your own. The only thing bigger than my mouth is my heart, and the “shady” things I say should never be taken seriously.

MR: As a comedian yourself, what are your thoughts on the latest Dave Chappell/Netflix controversy?

10

SGN

GM: I’ve always felt like comedy and drag go hand in hand: it’s an outrageous way to start a conversation and make people confront their own feelings about anything and everything. That being said, I think there’s a way to do that without disparaging and discrediting an entire group of human beings. I think it’s shameful that someone with that great of a platform would choose to punch down.

MR: Your new single “Walk Tall” is about growing up Gay in the South — and it’s a very good song. Radio worthy even, but a hard sell, given its content, to a country-music audience. How do you think that changes? Will LGBTQ+ country artists ever enjoy the kind of success their straight counterparts do?

GM: I think so. To be completely honest with you, I’ve gotten much more support for

that album from the country community than I have from the drag world. The message is so universal, and we were very careful to do it in an authentic, simple way. When we stop focusing on our differences and start embracing our similarities, the world can change. I just do the things that make me happy and hope it finds the people who need to hear it.

MR: Christmas is just around the corner. Do you prefer giving or receiving? What’s your most prized Christmas present from the past?

GM: I’m definitely a giver! I drive myself crazy for months researching and planning and looking for the perfect gifts for everyone. It’s my way of showing the people I care most about that while I may be busy, I’m listening. I hear them, I see them, and I appreciate them.

The best Christmas present I ever got was a cheap plastic pair of ruby slippers from my mama when I was a kid. I still have them. That moment changed my life forever.

It’s what actually inspired “Walk Tall.”

MR: Like Santa Claus himself, the Ginger Minj “Winter Wonderland” tour is coming to town. What do you have in store for audiences this holiday season?

GM: What don’t we have in store?! There are 20 costume changes, instructional videos gone terribly wrong, singing, dancing, magic tricks, fog machines, comedy, and it even snows over the audience! This is the biggest, prettiest, most ambitious show we have ever put together.

MR: Looking forward to 2022, what’s in the works?

GM: So many great things! More music, some movies, some TV, a stage production of La Cage aux Folles in Chicago, and my book Southern Fried Sass will hit the shelves. It’s a great time to be the “Glamour Toad,” and I am grateful every single day.

Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose work has been published in more than a hundred outlets across the world.

Connect with Mikey on Instagram @ mikeyroxtravels.

Photos courtesy of the artist

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

SGN

11

12

SGN

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

SGN

13

THIS AD SPACE HAS BEEN GENEROUSLY DONATED BY KRISTIN COSTELLO IN MEMORY OF SGN PUBLISHER GEORGE BAKAN

14

SGN

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

Film

Scott’s House of Gucci is a stylistic marvel of melodramatic excess

House of Gucci – Photo courtesy of MGM

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer HOUSE OF GUCCI Theaters The sordid tale at the heart of House of Gucci is a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction situation. Based on the best-selling book

by Sara Gay Forden, director Ridley Scott’s star-studded endeavor is an epic, largerthan-life melodrama of big moments and even bigger performances. It is smarmy, nutty, glossy, nasty, self-indulgent, and arguably a wee bit overlong. Scott goes for broke, hitting the mark more often than he misses, but when those shots go wide, they do so by a country mile.

As the 1970s are drawing to a close, Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) makes the acquaintance of Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) at a party. The son of Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons) and the nephew of Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino), the young man is studying to be a lawyer and wants no part of the family business. Patrizia, however, has other ideas. After their romance and subsequent marriage erects a wall between Maurizio and Rodolfo, she finds a way to ingratiate herself with Aldo, planting seeds that will eventually push her new husband into his uncle’s good graces.

The first hour of this 157-minute opus is

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

sensational. The meet-cute between Patrizia and Maurizio is sublime. So is their subsequent romance, including a brief period where Maurizio works for Patrizia’s trucking magnate father Vincent (Fernando Reggiani) after Rodolfo cuts his son out of his life. The pair’s romantic entanglement has passion and fire, the electrical undercurrents passing between them taking on a mesmeric life of its own that’s positively dazzling.

Things go into overdrive when Aldo enters the picture. The explosively bewildering insanity of the fashion magnate’s birthday party is mind-blowing. It is here that Jared Leto is introduced as Aldo’s cluelessly effete son Paolo, and it immediately becomes crystal clear that Scott has no intention of playing things safe. He allows the Gucci saga to play like an episode of Dynasty on steroids. No emotion is too giant. No performance is too broad. When you look in the dictionary for a definition of “excess,” it wouldn’t surprise me if all that’s there now is this film’s poster.

Naturally, the core of this saga is how Patrizia and Maurizio’s relationship changes over the decades. As she finagles and plots her husband’s rise up the Gucci business ladder, he, in turn, becomes increasingly heartless, allowing power to fundamentally change him, much to his wife’s dismay. It’s a calamity of tragic errors on both their parts: one listening to bad advice and following

even worse instruction, the other thinking that all of this underhanded double-dealing wouldn’t fundamentally affect their marriage, forever destroying whatever love there was between them.

Becky Johnston (The Prince of Tides) and Roberto Bentivegna cram as much as they can into their screenplay, and there is an episodically sprawling nature to the narrative that can be equally frustrating and fascinating. Additionally, Scott gives his high-powered cast the freedom to cut loose in almost every way imaginable. Some, in the case of Pacino, Irons, and especially Driver, play things relatively straight and close to the vest. Others, most notably Leto, go in unimaginable, borderline cartoonish directions that defy easy description.

Then there is Gaga. A friend of mine recently commented how the pop superstar was out there slaying on the red carpet on her worldwide promotional tour, saying how he’s been “eating up” every one of her looks. My response? Seems like a fair observation, considering how in House of Gucci she consumes every inch of the screen as if she were a gluttonous carnivore unable to control her cravings.

In all seriousness, Scott unleashes Gaga upon the material. She, in turn, makes mincemeat out of it. This is a performance of otherworldly, Joan Crawford-meetsSophia Loren proportions. As internally

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

subtle as Gaga’s work in A Star Is Born was, what she does here contains nothing minimalistic. She makes Patrizia an atomicpowered siren serenading the Gucci family to its doom, her initial girlish infatuation with Maurizio morphing into a full-blown Machiavellian powder keg of vitriolic retribution that’s extraordinary.

There’s so much more I could add, including a discussion of the suitably glossy camerawork of Dariusz Wolski (News of the World), the lush production design crafted by three-time Academy Award nominee Arthur Max (Gladiator), and the expensively immaculate costumes by Janty Yates (The Last Duel). The technical facets are top-notch, and like all of Scott’s motion pictures, there is not a single visual element that is anything other than magnificent.

As for House of Gucci as a whole, that’s a different animal. The parts I loved I did so with all my heart. The stuff I didn’t I found more perplexing than unappealing, as the jarring shifts in tone from soapy melodrama to kitschy comedy to something bafflingly in between were a lot for any viewer to deal with. Scott dares the audience to accept what he is doing, no questions asked, making this a lethally deranged haute couture treatise on avarice, fashion, family, and fame I’m going to be thinking about for a long time to come.

SGN

15

Film

Magnificent King Richard is a winner in straight sets

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer KING RICHARD Theaters / HBO Max Richard Williams (Will Smith) has a plan. A 78-page plan, to be specific, outlining the future as he sees it for daughters Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton). Along with his wife Oracene “Brandy” Williams (Aunjanue Ellis) and the pair’s other three children, Tunde (Mikayla Lashae Bartholomew), Isha (Daniele Lawson), and Layla (Layla Crawford), the whole family is determined to help the girls to become tennis superstars.

Impossible? Two little Black girls from Compton — coached by their self-taught father and assisted by their equally amateur mother, practicing on public courts and utilizing subpar equipment — are going to become tennis royalty, playing Center Court at Wimbledon and the US Open?

Definitely impossible. At least, that’s what everyone keeps telling Richard as they kindly shut the door in his face. After all, this just isn’t the road to professional tennis superstardom. What Venus and Serena are attempting to do, that’s just not how it’s done.

We already know how all of this works out. Venus Williams has seven Grand Slam singles titles, including five Wimbledon championships. Serena Williams is in the conversation as the greatest tennis player — male or female — of all time, what with 39 career Grand Slam titles and the record for being ranked number one in the world the longest in the Open Era. These two women changed the game of professional tennis forever, so it isn’t like the outcome of the new inspirational sports drama King Richard is ever in doubt.

That does not make the film any less spectacular. Directed with passionate flair

King Richard – Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men) and featuring a rich, meticulously layered screenplay written by Zach Baylin, this is the kind of motion picture one wants to watch in a full auditorium with a cheering crowd bursting at the seams to applaud. It is a thoughtful, energetic drama overflowing in excitement. I loved the heck out of it, and I have a sneaky suspicion the majority of audiences will end up feeling the same.

The focal point is Richard. I love that, while they’re undeniably laudatory of Venus and Serena’s father, Green and Baylin don’t take it easy on him, either. He is a flawed man with high ideals who makes several mistakes even when his heart is in the right place. Richard has a past he can’t escape from and very rarely acknowledges.

He is stubborn and a bit of a self-promoter, and even when his daughters or his wife beg him to reconsider a decision, he almost always refuses to change his mind.

Smith is masterful. This is the best the actor has been since his stellar transformation into Muhammad Ali 20 years ago for director Michael Mann. It is a bravura reminder of just how remarkable Smith can be when he sets his mind to it. He digs into Richard, embodying him right down to the last molecule. His vocal inflections and unbalanced physicality allow him to disappear into the character, and there were moments where I forgot I was watching Will Smith entirely. He’s that good.

Ellis nearly matches him. She has moments of hushed magnificence that caught me by surprise. A brief subplot of Brandy stepping into train Serena when Venus gets free tutelage from legendary coach Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn) is ferociously focused, with Ellis showcasing an intense form of motherly devotion that’s sublime.

Even better is a moment later on where her character has to stand toe to toe with

Richard and remind him that their girls have not achieved their tennis opportunities all because of him. Ellis and Smith stare one another down, but not in a way that feels melodramatic or inorganically schmaltzy.

Instead, their confrontation has genuine heat, making what happens after their faceoff all the more heartrendingly authentic.

All of the supporting players are terrific, most notably Jon Bernthal as Rick Macci, the first coach to take on both Venus and Serena. There are also some lovely set pieces, directed with confident fury by Green, particularly a montage of Venus winning countless trophies during her brief time as a juniors competitor. It helps that both director of photography Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood) and editor Pamela Martin (Battle of the Sexes) are at the top of the respective games, so the film has a bracingly euphoric kinetic momentum that’s due in large part to them.

But special mention needs to be given to Sidney and Singleton. These two youngsters are sensational as Venus and Serena, and while the former gets a bit more to do, this does not mean the latter is at all content — much like the woman she’s portraying — to sit very long in her costar’s shadow.

Sidney and Singleton have a naturalistic back and forth I reveled in, and if you’d have given me an extra hour of the two of them interacting on and off the tennis court, that would have been perfectly fine.

Are there hiccups? Certainly. How could there not be? Not all of this works, and a couple of scenes and sequences do fall annoyingly flat. But those moments are few and far between. King Richard is a spellbinding biopic of a complicated man and his two incredible daughters, all working together to do what was previously considered impossible. This is one of 2021’s best films. See it at once.

Gorgeous Encanto a loving concerto of familial togetherness

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer ENCANTO Theaters The Madrigals live in a magical house hidden in a secret valley on the outskirts of an isolated village deep in the forests of Colombia. With towering mountains on all sides, the family and the villagers are safeguarded from the evils of the outside world by a mysterious, magical force contained in a shimmering candle whose flame never dies.

Since the arrival of Abuela Alma (voiced by María Cecilia Botero) in the valley and the instantaneous appearance of her musically enchanted home, every Madrigal child has been granted a marvelous gift on their fifth birthday. All save one: Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz). For some reason, she was not granted a supernatural power, while one of her sisters, Luisa (Jessica Darrow), received super strength and another, Isabela (Diane Guerrero), produces beautiful roses out of thin air.

The lovely thing about Disney’s 60th animated motion picture Encanto is how boldly life-affirming it is. When the magic protecting the Madrigals begins to fade, it is no secret that Mirabel will be the key element in the bigger picture. Her relationship with Abuela Alma and the origins of the miracle are the mystery that must be solved, and this selflessly courageous young woman is the only one in the family with the ability to do it.

There are no big villains, save for the evil

that forced Abuela Alma from her homeland decades prior, but the less said about that, the better. No invaders are trying to steal the magic candle. Instead, this is a story of family. One of parents and children, of siblings learning to care for one another even when seeing eye to eye is not possible. A saga of togetherness and a commitment to doing the right thing, no matter what the cost.

That does mean the narrative can feel slight. The cadre of writers who had a hand constructing this scenario — a list that includes songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) and directors Jared Bush (Zootopia), Byron Howard (Tangled), and Charise Castro Smith — do have trouble filling up every second of the film’s admittedly brisk

16

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

SGN

Encanto – Photo courtesy of Disney

99-minute running time. There is some padding here, and a couple of the musical numbers, as boisterous and colorful as they may be, do somewhat overstay their welcome.

But the animation is stunningly gorgeous, and Mirabel is a wonderful main character. Spending time with her is a royal treat. There’s a great bit where she gives all of herself to help her nephew Antonio (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) find his inner courage to walk through the door leading to his gift on his fifth birthday. Later, there is another stellar sequence in which she ventures into the room of her missing uncle Bruno (John Leguizamo), only to discover a wonderland of sand and stone that’s as dangerous as it is spectacular.

I also liked Mirabel’s interactions with the Madrigal home itself. It is a living, breathing entity, moving pieces of itself seemingly at whim. It is immediately apparent that, while the abode adores all those who reside within its supernatural walls, Mirabel holds a special place in its heart. The duo have a relationship built on a solid foundation of trust: the house knows the young woman protects it, not because it has gifted her with some magical ability but because she loves what it has done for her family, asking nothing in return.

Miranda’s songs and the score by composer Germaine Franco (Dora and the Lost City of Gold) work in delightful tandem, with an undeniably terrific opening number featuring Mirabel introducing each member of her family along with their abilities.

Another number, centered on Isabela and her realization that she doesn’t have to only grow roses all the time, is equally wonderful, maybe my favorite musical moment in the film.

It’s never a surprise where all of this is headed. What is, at least somewhat, is how bracingly emotional the filmmakers end up making the climactic moments. There’s a shared journey into the past between grandmother and granddaughter that’s sublime, such that the realization that Mirabel might possess the greatest gift of any of the Madrigals hits with a moderately unexpected impact, earning Encanto its tears. This aria to familial togetherness is a loving concerto of community I’d happily hum along with whenever given the opportunity.

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

Books

Winter book club: You’ll fall in love with this rivalry rom-com

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Contributing Writer What’s better than curling up on a cold winter night and watching a classic, cheesy Hallmark rom-com? Reading a book with the same feel-good vibes, and actual LGBTQ+ and BIPOC representation.

This winter, we are bringing all those warm and fuzzy feelings to our winter romcom book club, and we are so excited to kick off the love fest with our first pick, May the Best Man Win by Zabe “Z.R.” Ellor.

Love is patient, love is kind — except sometimes it’s not. In his hilarious and heartwarming debut novel, Ellor explores the highs and lows of high school drama.

May the Best Man Win is the story of Jeremy and Lukas, two high school exes who are both vying for the homecoming king crown.

After breaking his ex-boyfriend’s heart and beginning the process of medically transitioning, Jeremy decides the best way to solidify his identity as a man is to win the coveted homecoming popularity contest. Meanwhile, Lukas, still heartbroken over the loss of his long-term relationship and the death of his older brother, is just trying to prove himself capable to his family by winning the title. What ensues next is chaos, calamity, and a rivalry for the ages.

May the Best Man Win follows one of Ellor’s favorite rom-com tropes: enemies to lovers. “Anytime there’s these two people who can’t stand each other — bonus points if it’s the hero and the villain — the higher the stakes the better. There’s just something about the intensity of those relationships,” he gushed.

Origins While this book is Ellor’s first published novel, it was his twelfth completed manuscript. His inspiration came out of a lack of feel-good Queer and Trans books when he started writing. “There wasn’t anything like it at the time when I got the idea. There had been a couple of successful books about cis Queer people, but mostly just representing white, able-bodied, Queer people… there wasn’t anything equivalent about Trans experiences.”

After joining a Trans writing group, Ellor realized he was not alone in wanting more Trans-centered media. “We made this push through social media and our industry contacts because LGBTQ+ representation can’t be done in just one book, and we wanted to broaden that spectrum to include more Trans voices.”

From there, he began to plot out the novel that would eventually become May the Best Man Win. “Once I had the idea and I had the go-ahead from my agent, I just dove in. I had the characters’ voices in my head, and it was almost as if they were speaking to me. So, I drafted the rough draft in about three weeks.

After I did that, I set it aside for a while. I read back over my notes and did some edits and shared them with some other writers I know and received their feedback. Then I sent it to my agent.”

His idea for the story came from the extravagant Maryland neighborhoods he grew up around. “The inspiration I had were these lavish homecomings we had at my high school, and I wanted to write for teenagers because they often don’t have access to books like this, where they can see themselves reflected... While I think it’s a book that adult readers can enjoy, I wanted to create something that would put Queer teens at the forefront.”

Representation for teens Ellor believes that we need Queer and Trans stories for readers of all ages. However, the need for YA Queer literature is monumental. “We are still very much in a

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

Photo by Lindsay Anderson

period where Queer teenagers do not have access to that kind of representation in their reading life. When I was a teen, the few pieces of Queer media I had weren’t written for me. They were specific, sensationalized, and tragic, written in a way that didn’t make me understand I could be Queer and that that label could be accessible to me. I think it is important to have Queer [representation] in media, for Queer teens who are looking to find a sense of themselves and the world they live in.”

He hopes that readers can take away a better understanding of what it can mean to be Queer: that the struggles are real, but that joy can be, too. “I hope readers take away a sense of hopefulness grounded in the very real struggles that Trans teens face today.

Life is not always perfect for Trans teenagers. The struggles they face are real and incredibly painful, and difficult to navigate. I wanted to write about two Queer people who find each other and a community that supports them. Even though all their problems don’t go away, they feel grounded and loved and like they are in a place to face all the real issues they are facing.”

Ellor has already received positive feedback for his novel and plans to continue writing stories for Trans teens. “As long as there are readers who want to read these stories, I am very excited to be writing them,” he said. “I think it is a good time to be a Queer writer. We’re seeing a boom right now in Queer literature, and we see a real hunger for these books.”

Christmas Ellor is also a self-described “Christmas geek.”

“I love Christmas,” he said, “and I tend to make a pretty big deal out of it. I am very much looking forward to celebrating the winter holidays with friends this year, as opposed to last year, when we were all in quarantine.”

His favorite Christmas tradition is baking with friends and family. “I do a lot of baking, and I will send cookies to all my friends all over the country,” he laughed.

Of course, no Christmas season is complete without his favorite holiday movies.

“My favorite Christmas movie is Elf with Will Ferrell. It’s just such a joyful, irreverent, lovely little film. It has some incredibly funny scenes about the publishing industry as well,” he said.

“Specifically, I always crack up when you have to pitch your book at Christmas, or you’ll lose your job. I find that very funny, because the publishing industry is notoriously slow around Christmas. In the real world, nothing ever gets done the last two to three weeks of December.”

Zabe “Z.R.” Ellor – Photo courtesy of the author

Ellor hopes that readers can take away a better understanding of what it can mean to be Queer: that the struggles are real, but that joy can be, too.

Ellor spends Christmas in the DC area, where May the Best Man Win is set. “It’s fairly mild here, we haven’t even lost all our leaves yet. I think I see a white Christmas once every ten years.”

Snow or no snow, Christmas is his favorite time of year. It’s a time for love and romance, and a special date to The Nutcracker is at the top of his list this year.

“I am a total sap. They do this big performance of The Nutcracker every year in DC, and I would love for someone to take me to that, and then we could go and kiss in front of the national Christmas tree on the mall.”

What’s to come Fans of Ellor do not have to wait long to see what he’s been working on since May the Best Man Win hit shelves earlier this year. On July 5, 2022, his second novel, Silk Fire, will be released. “It’s an adult epic fantasy novel about a Bisexual male courtesan who is seeking revenge against his aristocrat father, and is drawn into a magical war,” says Ellor.

Following that novel will be Acting the Part, “another YA contemporary novel. It’s

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

about a nonbinary actor who has to pretend to date their co-star to keep the showrunners from killing off their on-screen sapphic relationship.” This novel was inspired by the “dead Lesbians” trope that Ellor admits he hates to see.

However, “at the same time, I can name several books that do kill off a Queer character, but it works well for the story. If the story is a tragedy, it works well for the intention. I’ve read some excellent stories about Queer grief and the loss of a lover or partner. I don’t think there are too many specific Queer tropes that are off-limits.”

So, if you’re looking for cute story of lovers to enemies (to maybe lovers again?) to take you back to the drama of high school, and some great Trans representation, pick up a copy of May the Best Man Win and read along with us this winter!

May the Best Man Win is available at Elliot Bay Book Co. Silk Fire will be out on July 5, 2022. Acting the Part will be released sometime in 2022. Z.R. Ellor is on Twitter @zrellor and Instagram @Zabe_ pics.

SGN

17

18

SGN

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

SGN

19

Op-Ed

A trial born from white privilege

Photo by Sean Krajacic / Reuters

by Janice Athill SGN Contributing Writer

A Black man who had just shot three white men On November 19, Kyle Rittenhouse was in the vicinity of police officers could never acquitted of five felony charges: first-degree reckless homicide, two counts of first-degree have gone home to sleep in his own bed, been recklessly endangering safety, first-degree considered eligible for a self-defense claim, or intentional homicide, and attempted firstdegree intentional homicide. The jury’s even have lived to see his “fair” trial. But it’s no decision is an unsurprising but still devastating turn of events. But this case that divided secret Black Americans don’t have the same the country stood for more than just this white man’s claim of self-defense, it repre- rights that white Americans do. sented white privilege as a whole.

While race was not the primary focus in this case, it is woven into the events leading up to the shootings, the treatment of the defendant, and the verbiage used while trying his case. It was the shooting of an unarmed Black man named Jacob Blake — seven times to be exact — by a white police officer that started the protests. Blake is paralyzed from the waist down; the officer remains on the police force.

Rittenhouse was 17 years old when he traveled from his home in Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin, armed himself with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle, and made false claims of being an EMT at a racial justice protest to help protect property. Rittenhouse had already committed crimes by breaking curfew that night and unlawfully possessing a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18 (the latter charge was dismissed by the judge).

However, footage shows that before he shot three men (Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, were killed, and Gaige Grosskreutz, now 27, was wounded) he was greeted (while holding his weapon) and offered water by the police.

Afterward, he was able to go back home to Illinois before his mother convinced him to turn himself in. Once he did, his interview was cut short when detectives realized he didn’t understand his Miranda rights.

During his trial, Judge Bruce Schroeder ruled that prosecutors would not be allowed to refer to Rittenhouse’s victims as “victims.” Defense attorney Mark Richards referenced the Blake shooting in his closing argument, saying, “Other people in this community have shot people seven times

20

SGN

and it’s been found to be OK, and my client did it four times in three-quarters of a second to protect his life.”

A Black man in a similar situation to Rittenhouse would not have been given these courtesies. A Black man who had just shot three white men in the vicinity of police officers could never have gone home to sleep in his own bed, been considered eligible for a self-defense claim, or even have lived to see his “fair” trial. But it’s no secret

Black Americans don’t have the same rights that white Americans do.

As is the case in many states, Wisconsin laws are sympathetic to homicide defendants claiming self-defense. Once this claim is made, prosecutors must prove that the defendant did not act in self-defense.

This trial hinged on the prosecution proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Rittenhouse wasn’t acting in self-defense, without regard for the circumstances that by law

prohibit claims of self-defense in court.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger even stated in his closing argument, “When the defendant provokes this incident, he loses the right to self-defense. You cannot claim self-defense against a danger you create.” The problem was that he couldn’t prove that provocation to the jury, which in this instance was nearly impossible.

Unfortunately, the jury justified Rittenhouse’s actions with their not-guilty verdict at a time that could influence the decision of another murder trial taking place in Georgia.

Three white men are on trial for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, an innocent Black man out for an evening jog. These men are also claiming self-defense, although they chased him down with firearms.

They claim Arbery was a robbery suspect (despite officials having no records to support this), who they shot because he tried to take control of a shotgun from them. Hopefully the jury in this case can see that, by chasing Arbery down with guns, this innocent man’s actions clearly reflect him reacting in self-defense against them.

Photo by Sean Krajacic / Reuters

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

National & International News

Gay men have highest rate of bachelor’s degrees in US

International news highlights

New study from Notre Dame

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Contributing Writer

Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl – Photo courtesy of Focus Features

Photo courtesy of Cal State Fullerton

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Gay men have the highest rate of bachelor’s degrees among all demographic groups in the US, according to a new study from Notre Dame University.

Women, regardless of sexual orientation, have long outnumbered men in educational attainment, getting more bachelor’s degrees by about a 3:2 ratio. The new study suggests that those numbers may vary according to sexual orientation.

The study, titled “Intersecting the Academic Gender Gap: The Education of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual America,” found that Gay men earn significantly more degrees than straight men, while the overall number of Lesbian women earning degrees is declining.

“Across analyses, I reveal two demographic facts,” said Dr. Joel Mittleman, an assistant professor of sociology at Notre Dame and author of the study.

“First, women’s rising academic advan-

tages are largely confined to straight women. Although lesbian women historically outpaced straight women, in contemporary cohorts, lesbian and bisexual women face significant academic disadvantages.

“Second, boys’ well-documented underperformance obscures one group with remarkably high levels of school success: gay boys.”

According to Mittleman, 52% of Gay men in the US have a bachelor’s degree, 16 percentage points higher than the national average. The study also found that 6% of gay men in the US have an advanced degree (JD, MD, or PhD), which is 50% higher than the number of straight men with degrees.

Remarkably, the trend held true across the four largest racial/ethnic groups (white, Black, Hispanic, and Asian).

Putting that number into a global perspective, Mittleman writes, “If America’s Gay men were considered on their own, they would have, by far, the highest college

completion rate in the world: easily surpassing the current leader, Luxembourg, at 46.6%.”

The study also explores why Gay men should have such high rates of academic success, hypothesizing that they may respond to societal homophobia by “overcompensating” academically.

“Whereas the rules of masculinity may feel obscure or unattainable, the rules of school can feel discrete and manageable,” Mittleman writes.

“Whereas the approval of a parent may be uncertain, the praise of a teacher can be regularly earned with the right amount of effort.”

Meanwhile, Mittleman found that Lesbian women were twice as likely to report dropping out of high school than straight women — a trend, he hypothesizes, that could be indicative of teacher discrimination.

The study will be published in the American Sociological Review.

National news highlights

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Contributing Writer Middleton, WI: All-Trans hockey team back on the ice NBC reported on November 22 that Team Trans, a hockey team made up entirely of Transgender people, is back on the ice this year after the pandemic had kept them apart. The Boston-based team is the

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

Team Trans in Middleton, Wisconsin – Photo by Ian Degraff of Ian Steven Photo

first of its kind, and after going six games undefeated in its 2019 friendship series against the venerable Boston Pride Hockey, last weekend they played against the Madison Gay Hockey Association. Team Trans goaltender Mason LeFebvre said to NBC News of the experience, “I keep meeting people that I’ve barely spoken to or haven’t

spoken to directly, and I feel like I already know them in a way, just because of the shared experiences that we’ve had in hockey spaces.” Center Avery Cordingly said: “It’s feeling like you don’t have to get over a bunch of awkward hurdles before you can just exist together in a space.”

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

United Kingdom: Redmayne regrets taking Trans role NBC reported November 22 on actor Eddie Redmayne’s regrets for having played a Trans character in The Danish Girl, a 2016 film about one of the first people in the world to undergo gender-reassignment surgery. NBC noted the “demands at the time for the character to be played by a Trans actor.” Redmayne told The Sunday Times, “No, I wouldn’t take it on now.

I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake. The bigger discussion about the frustrations around casting is because many of the people don’t have a chair at the table. There must be a leveling; otherwise we are going to carry on having these debates.”

India: Lawyer lined up to be country’s first openly Gay judge The BBC reported November 18 on Saurabh Kirpal, a lawyer who could become the country’s first openly Gay judge. Kirpal was recommended by the top court’s collegium, and it is “widely believed” that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration will approve Kirpal, which would officially appoint him as a Delhi High Court judge. His colleagues approve of the decision. The BBC noted the broader context of India’s decriminalizing of Gay sex in 2018, a case in which Kirpal was lawyer for two major petitioners. Public opinion seems to be lagging behind the development, however, and Kirpal believes that his appointment was delayed because of his sexual orientation.

Washington, DC: Second out judge nominated for federal court LGBTQ Nation reported on November 21 that Pres. Joe Biden has nominated Alison Nathan, a Lesbian district judge, for a promotion to the US Court of Appeals. Nathan is the second out LGBTQ woman to be nominated for such a seat, the first being Beth Robinson, who was confirmed earlier this month. Nathan has worked closely with the Obama administration, and is notably the judge assigned to the case against Ghislaine Maxwell. “Needless to say,” Nathan said of her nomination, “I’m very honored.” But she will “continue to do my day job, which means presiding over this trial until completion and handling the hundreds of other civil and criminal matters on my docket.”

SGN

21

22

SGN

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 7 Y E A R S!

Happy Holidays!

All are Welcome.

We Don’t Just Say It. We Live it.

St. Patrick’s Church is a welcoming, evolving Catholic Church located at the north end of Capitol Hill, 2702 Broadway E. We embrace all people as children of God and would like to invite LGBTQ community members to worship with us.

As a parish, we have a strong emphasis on social justice and inclusion.

This includes outreach to a women’s shelter, a supportive relationship with a faith community in El Salvador, weekly sign language interpreted Mass for the deaf and deaf-blind community, and welcoming developmentally disabled adults from the L’arche community.

Our choir and dance troupe are an integral part of our expression.

2702 Broadway E. Seattle, WA 98102 · www.stpatrickseattle.org

This notice was paid by the St. Patrick LGBTQ+ Engagement and Accompaniment Circle of Parishioners, and several other Parishioners, who invite LGBTQ returning Catholics and others to join us in person or online.

For more information about St. Patrick’s LGBTQ Circle of Parishioners contact John Dunn – dunn570@aol.com

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

SGN

23