SGN September 17, 2021

ISSUE 38

C E L E B R AT I N G

VOLUME 49

47 YEARS

F R I D AY

IN

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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

PRIDE PLACE

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Contributing Writer

Aging with pride: The groundbreaking of Pride Place

On Friday, September 10, 2021, some of Seattle’s most prominent figures gathered in front of the historic Eldridge Tire Company building to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first LGBTQIA+-affirming senior housing community in Washington state. As the event host, Aleksa Manila, put it, “This is quite legendary!”

see PRIDE PLACE page 4

Photo by Lindsey Anderson

Caitlyn Jenner bombs in California recall election Hints at political comeback

Caitlyn Jenner and CA Gov. Gavin Newsom – Photos by Richard Drew / Nic Coury / AP

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Caitlyn Jenner has failed in her attempt to become governor of California. In fact, the reality TV star got only 1.1% of the votes cast in the special recall election to unseat current Gov. Gavin Newsom.

With almost 70% of the total votes

counted, it is certain as the SGN goes to press that Newsom will retain his office.

The governor is drawing nearly two-thirds of the votes against an initiative to remove him from office.

California voters were asked to cast a two-part ballot. First they had to vote on whether to remove Newsom from office.

see CALIFORNIA page 21

Remembering Jeff Johnston Photo courtesy of the family of Jeff Johnston

by Mark D. Johnston For the SGN Even though he would be the first to protest this announcement, the family of Jeffrey Brent “Jeff” Johnston must sadly confirm that their “big bro” passed away at age 65 on August 21, 2021, after struggling for some time with heart disease and kidney cancer.

Jeff was born in Puyallup, the second son of the late Art Johnston and Carol Johnston (née Etherington). He was raised in Eugene, Oregon, after his family moved there in 1958. He was a very big, even fat, toddler. He later grew so tall and lanky that by age 11 he was “big bro” to all his siblings, because he towered over them.

see JEFF JOHNSTON page 6

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

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

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

In this Issue

LOCAL NEWS 4 A&E • FILM • BOOKS 7 OP-ED 16 NATIONAL NEWS 19 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 21

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Local News

(l-r) Aleksa Manila, Dr. Karen Fredriksen-Goldson, Seattle City Councimember Lorena Gonzales, and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott – Photos by Lindsey Anderson

PRIDE PLACE

Pride Place will provide The project was made possible by Gen Pride and Community Roots Housing, 118 units of which lobbied for funding from the county, city, and state legislators after providing affordable apartments thorough research indicating that the community had a dire need for more such hous- on seven stories ing for senior citizens.

Pride Place will provide 118 units of to LGBTQIA+ senior affordable apartments on seven stories to community members.

LGBTQIA+ senior community members. continued from cover

Remembering and honoring history The decision to place the project in the heart of Capitol Hill was deliberate. Much of the charm and culture of the neighborhood comes from its being a safe and welcoming place for Seattle’s Queer community, as it grew during the height of the Gay liberation movement.

Joe McDermott, vice chair of the King County Council, spoke to the experiences of Queer activists in Capitol Hill’s early days, telling the story of a friend who “recalled vividly coming and going from alley entrances to Gay bars because visibility carried a real risk.” Today, Seattle has the second highest Queer population, behind only San Francisco.

“It is so important to remember our history and honor our trailblazers who led us.

And yet, far too often, as members of the LGBTQIA community age, they lose community and often connections to their family of choice,” added McDermott.

As more people move to the city, neighborhoods have begun to become gentrified.

Many Queer residents who worked so hard to make neighborhoods like Capitol Hill a safe space are now finding themselves pushed aside. Pride Place aims to solidify a space for these aging activists who have spent their lives solidifying spaces for younger LGBTQIA+ people to grow and feel safe.

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Lorena Gonzales, president of the Seattle City Council, noticed the effect gentrification has had on many of Seattle’s long-term residents. It was this trend that pushed her to get involved with the Pride Place project.

“Like so many of you, I see the magnitude of housing and affordability challenges facing so many Seattleites, making it too hard for many to continue to call our city home,” Gonzales declared. “I first became involved in this wonderful effort because I believe that everyone deserves to live in a welcoming place. And I was horrified to learn that some of our LGBTQ seniors had to go back into the closet just to find housing stability and a place to be housed.”

In 2016 Gonzales championed funding for the Rainbow Housing Report. “It affirmed what we knew: that our LGBTQ seniors need housing,” she said, “and they need housing that is both affirming and responsive to their needs in the historic part of the city that has always been a home for you.”

A new senior center First to speak at the groundbreaking event was Dr. Karen Fredriksen-Goldson, a nationally recognized scholar whose work in addressing equity and intersections of health disparities, aging, and well-being in resilient at-risk communities made the

Pride Place project possible. Dr. Fredriksen-Goldson was also the pilot behind the Rainbow Housing Report.

“There were rumblings about this 20 years ago. A decade ago, I was talking to a person in the city about an LGBTQ elder center. They concluded that it would never happen,” said Dr. Fredriksen-Goldson. She has put in decades of work to help create the state’s first LGBTQIA+ senior center.

“Never underestimate the fortitude of our community,” she said. “Today will celebrate Seattle’s first LGBTQ-affirming, agefriendly, racially equitable, and affordable housing community. And the Gen Pride center will be right inside the doors, creating community here in the very heart of our historic Capitol Hill. Pride Place: a place we can all call home.”

Not only will Pride Place provide homes to Queer seniors, but it will also be the location of a new, 4,400-square-foot GenPride community and health services center.

LGBTQIA+ providers will be brought in so residents will have easy access.

In addition, 3,800 square feet of commercial retail space will also be included on the street level of the building, ensuring a place for LGBTQIA+ businesses to operate.

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

The decision to place the project in the heart of Capitol Hill was deliberate. Much of the charm and culture of the neighborhood comes from its being a safe and welcoming place for Seattle’s Queer community, as it grew during the height of the Gay liberation movement.

Photos by Lindsey Anderson

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

Affordable homes A study out of the University of Washington found that LGBTQIA+ adults are more likely to face financial challenges in their later years due to a lack of familial financial support and the cost of additional healthcare that may not be as necessary for heterosexuals and cisgendered people.

“I realized early on that Seattle had some of the least support for LGBTQ elders across the nation. So we started Gen Pride,” added Dr. Fredriksen-Goldson. “When I first started talking to elders here, I heard another important message: We want a place we can call home. A place that is home a place that feels like home.

“LGBT elders still to this day remain largely invisible, underserved, even though we have one of the largest LGBT communities in the nation. We all know Seattle is facing a housing crisis, and we need to create an inclusive and safe environment for LGBTQ older adults, really to better our entire city.”.

Units at Pride Place will be affordable for low-income households that earn 30-60% of the area’s median income.

Funding for the project has come to $52

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million, much of it from a variety of public and private investments, as well as lowincome state and federal tax credits, the Rise Together campaign, and GenPride.

When it comes to meeting funding goals, the director of the City of Seattle’s Office of Housing, Emily Alvarado, is not too worried.

“We are on track to meet our levy goals. We may even exceed our levy goals, and we see the power and the promise of these investments, [though] we must do much more.”

“All people deserve to age with the dignity and safety that an affordable home provides,” she added. “Here at Pride Place, we are bringing 118 new, critically needed, affordable homes to the heart of Capitol Hill.”

Members of Seattle’s Capitol Hill community are thrilled to see the project begin.

Community member Jordan Ross said, “It’s nice to see this space getting good use. It’s just been sitting vacant for so long.” Friends, neighbors, and supporters can’t wait to return to the building site in 18 months when the ribbons are cut, and the heroes of the LGBTQIA+ movement finally get a place where they can age with pride.

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Local News

Masks once again required at King County outdoor gatherings

by Hannah Saunders SGN Contributing Writer On September 2, 2021, Jeff Duchin signed a public health order for Seattle and King County that requires mask wearing at outdoor events with 500 or more people in attendance, effective September 7. The decision was made not long after the Delta variant of the coronavirus began sweeping the state at a shocking yet familiar rate.

Who is Jeff Duchin, and how can he do this?

Jeffrey Duchin, MD is the local health officer for Seattle and King County. He also actively serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors in the Office of Infectious Diseases for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Washington law allows for local health officers to take any action deemed necessary to control and prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the officer’s jurisdiction and maintaining the health and well-being of people therein. State law also allows for local health officers to enforce safety control measures (such as wearing a mask) based on scientific and medical data, their personal judgment, and existing standards of practice.

A brush-up on what we know Let’s go back to the basics: COVID-19 spreads from person to person through the air in small droplets or aerosol particles that contain the virus. It can also be spread before an infected person shows symptoms.

The risk of transmission outdoors is very low, yet that risk increases in crowded areas, where physical distancing (6 feet ideally) is difficult to maintain. Because of this, it is crucial to wear face masks, because they reduce the release of infectious viral droplets (as well as the rate at which they are breathed in).

When within 3–6 feet of an infectious source for 15 minutes or longer, the risk of transmission is high, but transmission can also occur even when 6 feet or further away.

The coronavirus spreads more rapidly among those who are not vaccinated, yet it can spread in those who are fully vaccinated and have a high level of protection against severe health-related outcomes.

Photo by Ted S. Warren / AP

also 2–3 times as transmissible as the original strain. That, combined with the state reopening and the more activities being allowed, has contributed to an increase in new cases.

Young and middle-aged adults and teens are currently being hit the hardest, particularly those living in south and southeast King County. Those who are Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, Native American/Alaskan Native, essential workers, or living in multigenerational households are being disproportionately impacted. Additionally, there are tens of thousands of people living in King County who are immunocompromised, which puts them at greater risk of infection.

• 73% of 30–39-year-olds are fully vaccinated Getting vaccinated against the coronavirus is one of the most important health decisions you will make, most likely, in your entire life. About a year and a half into this pandemic, the virus is still putting people in the hospital and taking lives daily — both in Washington state and around the globe. The vaccine protects not only yourself but also every single individual you cross paths with.

If you haven’t already, join the fully vaccinated crew According to Seattle and King County Public Health, about 67% of King County residents are fully vaccinated. About 750,000 county residents remain unvaccinated: approximately 320,000 are eligible yet have still not received a vaccine, while approximately 308,000 are under the age of 12 years and are not eligible to receive a vaccine.

COVID-19 vaccination rates remain lower in younger age groups: • 64% of 12–19-year-olds are fully vaccinated • 64% of 20–29-year-olds are fully vaccinated

The new masking orders “The use of face masks in certain outdoor situations where people cannot remain at least 6 feet apart from non-household members is reasonable and necessary in King County to reduce the risk for CoV-19 transmission,” stated the order.

The risk of COVID-19 transmission is found to be greater at large and crowded outdoor events where unvaccinated individuals are in attendance, where individuals cannot maintain adequate physical distance from one another, or where there is aerobic exercise, singing, shouting, or loud talking.

“Masks are required at any outdoor event with 500 or more people in attendance. This requirement applies to all people, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, five years of age and older,” stated the order.

In addition to the new large-event outdoor masking order, the indoor face mask

Jeff loved sports, and his height made him a natural candidate for basketball. At South Eugene High School, he played on the varsity team. His coach Dale Jones happily listed this very skinny player at 6’7” to intimidate opponents. But apparently he was not intimidating enough: the team finished eighth (out of sixteen) in the 1974 state championship tournament, narrowly losing the consolation bracket championship game.

Jeff continued playing basketball on the varsity team at Lane Community College in Eugene until knee injuries forced an end to his athletic career. He later recalled being recruited for a basketball scholarship

by Idaho State University, but scorned the idea of living in “Pokey-tello.” Little did he know that a few years later, lowly Idaho State would upset mighty UCLA in the NCAA tournament!

After he and his family relocated from Eugene to the Seattle area in 1977, Jeff

remained an ardent, lifelong fan of University of Oregon sports, proudly wearing his Fighting Duck apparel for any occasion, whether formal or informal.

Growing up, Jeff had an amazing range of talents. He was an excellent musician.

Thanks to training from his piano teacher, Miss Wanda Eastwood, he performed with success in local competitions. He also played the French horn so well that in 1969 he won admission to a summer music camp in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and stayed there with his uncle, Robert Etherington, the town doctor.

Jeff also excelled at mathematics, the only one of his siblings to complete an advanced calculus course. This delighted his father, an engineer, since Jeff’s brothers and sister were pursuing less useful subjects, such as languages, history, and special education. His siblings also remember with dismay his prowess in every kind of board and card game. He won so often that they nicknamed him “The Cheater.”

Jeff’s math skills served him well during the long career in retail and distribution man-

agement that he began in Seattle, although some of his jobs required other “soft skills” as well. One of the first was managing a 7-11 store whose staff sometimes summoned him to relieve them in the middle of the night after unspecified “incidents” involving crime (armed robbery) or the suspicion of crime (cash missing from the register).

Another of Jeff’s early employers was a new “members only” discount warehouse store chain, where he trained food sample presenters. He apparently wasn’t convinced by this company’s business model, perhaps because it required his trainees to hawk products branded with the unexciting name of the store’s suburban headquarters location: Kirkland.

He later worked as manager of the shipping dock at the old Bon Marché store in downtown Seattle, but left that position after becoming frustrated from dealing with his employees’ union, the Teamsters.

Jeff ended his career as warehouse manager at the Ocean Beauty Seafoods facility in Ballard, retiring from there when it closed in 2017.

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COVID-19 and King County The Delta variant of the coronavirus has been associated with higher risks of hospitalization in the state in comparison to the original strain from the spring of 2020. It is

JEFF JOHNSTON continued from cover

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requirement remains in effect. Those aged 5 and above in King County are required to wear face masks while in indoor public spaces, including grocery and retail stores, gyms and exercise facilities, stadiums and auditoriums, and governmental buildings.

Everyone in King County is required to wear a mask in schools, public transit, healthcare settings (such as doctor’s offices, hospitals, and long-term care facilities), homeless shelters, and correctional facilities.

Indoor masking requirements do not apply to children under 5 years of age (2-to 4-year-olds are not required but strongly recommended to mask up with adult supervision), while eating or drinking, those doing gymnastics (where there’s a possibility of the mask getting snagged on equipment), or while in indoor, non-public facilities, including offices and businesses.

What’s next?

Since this virus remains unpredictable, we have to get down with these new masking orders, as per Jeff Duchin. For some, it may feel like we’re traveling backward, but in the long run, we’ll be traveling at the speed of light when it comes to getting out of this viral mess.

For the time being, it’s important to play things safe. But by all means, please don’t cancel your concert tickets. Get vaxxed, get your mask on, and go to the damn show.

In retirement, Jeff divided his time between travel, attending musical theater, working seasonally at T-Mobile Park, gardening, and meeting often with his many friends. Jeff was a true gourmand who loved to eat and drink well, in ample portions, as so many of his social media posts show. He especially enjoyed Zatarain’s jambalaya mix and once suggested an entire case of it as a Christmas gift.

Jeff requested cremation, so his family is planning a memorial event (pandemic permitting) later this year for family and friends.

The Madison Pub hosted a remembrance event for him on August 28. Many thanks to all who attended to celebrate his memory!

Jeff is survived by his brothers, Mark Johnston and Phillip Johnston, sister Lori Johnston-Baker, beloved friend Ng Aik “Justin” Keat, five nieces and nephews who adored him, and many, many other friends, all of whom will deeply miss his gregarious, outgoing character, his generosity, his loving spirit, and his joie de vivre. It will be very, very hard to fill his size 15 shoes!

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

Arts & Entertainment

Jack Mozie releases newest music video “Beso”

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Contributing Writer

Photos courtesy of the artist

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On Friday, September 3, Seattle-based producer and recording artist Jack Mozie had a release party for his latest music video, “Beso,” a funky Latin-pop track off his EP Sin Poder Hacer Un Ruido, which also premiered on Friday and is now available on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music.

Mozie is no stranger to the industry. He has been recording his original music since the age of 19. “I put out my first original album when I was 21. I followed that up when I was 23 with my second record, and then took some time to off to make music for other people,” he said.

After his time off, he was ready to get back into the studio, 2021 marking ten years since his first official single was released.

Sin Poder Hacer Un Ruido is a unique album: Mozie’s first all-Spanish EP. “The experience was very different,” he said of only recording in Spanish. “As an immigrant, I moved here when I was 12. I kind of had some grasp of English before moving here, but English is what I became the most comfortable with. [I’m] trying to go back and revisit those Spanish roots and figure out, like, how do I want to write and not make it sound like it’s my second language, because it’s not.”

The process of creating new Spanish tracks was grueling. Mozie spent hours brushing up on his Spanish and researching the musical stylings he wanted to incorporate. “I listened to everything from 1940 to now, just to get in touch with like, okay, what is it like to be a Spanish recording artist… what’s the song structure like, what are the artists like… but also from the LGBT perspective. I wanted to tell that story as well. A lot of it is very inspired by that.”

Outside of producing and recording his music, Mozie gives back to the LGBTQ community with much of his free time

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and proceeds from his music, putting his passion toward helping LGBTQ-based nonprofits. “I volunteer with a lot of organizations, like Social Outreach Seattle, Seattle Pride, and Entre Hermanos, so a lot of my work kind of resonates in the music, so there’s always a little bit of an activist nudge with it.”

The release party, open to music lovers of all ages, reflected much of the fun and spontaneity of the song. Fans young and old took to the dance floor to celebrate and feel the rhythm. Mozie is grateful to be supported by his friends and family, all of whom were in attendance at the exciting event.

Fans describe “Beso” as “the perfect dance song for a late summer party.” The song reflects the feelings of confusion and joy often felt when experiencing a first love. “‘Beso’ is one of those songs where the whole story is you kind of see someone and you’re too afraid to tell them how you feel,” Mozie said, “but deep down you’re like, all I want to do is look at you and I want to kiss you. It’s kind of that inner fight of ‘I’m just dying to kiss you, but it just feels wrong, whether it’s society or it’s going to mess with our friendship.’ That’s kind of where it comes from.” “‘Beso’ is like a choreographer’s dream!” said director and choreographer Sandy Flores. “You can dance salsa, tango, bachata… anything with the song’s fun rhythm and catchy tune.”

When it came time for the premiere, a crowd gathered inside, eyes glued to a countdown projected on the wall. Full of fun family cameos, the video was well received by everyone in attendance.

“Beso” can be found on YouTube or any music streaming service, but listeners are warned: once you hit play, you won’t be able to stop your hips from shaking along to the catchy beat.

You can find Mozie’s music at Youtube. com/jackmozie, Jackmozie.com, Spotify, and Apple Music.

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Books

A summer of reading SUMMER BOOK CLUB READING LIST THE ARGONAUTS

BY MAGGIE NELSON RECOMMENDED BY ARUNDEL BOOKS

HOW TO FIND A PRINCESS

BY ALYSSA COLE RECOMMENDED BY KING’S BOOKS

TABULA IDEM EDITED BY IRIS JAY AND HYEM RECOMMENDED BY PHOENIX COMICS AND GAMES

DEAR SENTHURAN

BY AKWAEKE EMEZI RECOMMENDED BY ELLIOTT BAY BOOK COMPANY

GEARBREAKERS

BY ZOE HANA MIKUTA RECOMMENDED BY QUEEN ANNE BOOK COMPANY

REAL LIFE

BY BRANDON TAYLOR RECOMMENDED BY PHINNEY BOOKS & MADISON BOOKS

THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA

BY TJ KLUNE RECOMMENDED BY MAGNOLIA’S BOOKSTORE

SHUGGIE BAIN

BY DOUGLAS STUART RECOMMENDED BY SECRET GARDEN BOOKS

QUEERING THE TAROT

BY CASSANDRA SNOW RECOMMENDED BY QUEST BOOKS

MUTUAL AID: BUILDING SOLIDARITY DURING THIS CRISIS (AND THE NEXT)

BY DEAN SPADE RECOMMENDED BY LEFT BANK BOOK COLLECTIVE

Photo by Lindsey Anderson

Community starts here While each store I visited was unique, all shared one main component: an undying love for their communities. Each owner

or manager explained their admiration for the locals who frequented the stores, and the energy of the neighborhoods they call home. Some businesses are even able to give back to their communities.

Phinney Books has been giving back by organizing yearly book fairs for the grade schools in the district. “Other stores in town have stopped doing them because they’re a ton of work, but I love doing them,” owner Tom Nissley explained.

Another, Secret Garden Books, brings literature to local youth through special author events. “My job is bringing authors into schools, so when visiting authors come into town, I will take them to three or four school auditoriums, and we’ll do an evening book event with them here,” explained manager Suzanne Perry.

Some stores, like Queen Anne Book Co., give back to more than just locally; it donates to the Books to Prisoners Program.

“Over the last two or three years, we have developed a very close relationship with [that] program,” manager Wendee Wieking detailed. Now the Washigton State correctional institutions’ librarians even ask workers at the store to recommend books specifically for the inmates.

Then, of course, there are businesses like Ophelia’s Books, dedicated to helping the environment, one repurposed book at a time.

By only shelving used books, Ophelia’s is helping to decrease the amount of waste that ends up in areas like the Pudget Sound.

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by Lindsey Anderson SGN Contributing Writer Fresh out of college, I was leaving my hometown for the first time. I packed up all my belongings, and my little dog, and made the five-hour drive across the state to my new home: Seattle. I knew little about the city except where the Woodland Park Zoo was, and that I had just scored a great new job writing with the SGN. In an attempt to give a good pitch at one of our weekly writer’s meetings, I suggested starting a project in which I would write about Seattle’s independent bookstores, going from one to the next each week. Aside from the chance to meet other book lovers, I had no idea what this column was about to entail.

Over the next three months, I traveled across the city, meeting some of the most intriguing people and coming to understand the culture of Seattle, one bookstore and one neighborhood at a time. I soon came to find out that these businesses are the vestibules for the spirit of the city. I met some of the greatest minds in them, learned new ways of thinking and seeing the world, and received book recommendations as unique as each individual.

SGN

A book’s best friend Another unique component I found in Seattle’s independent bookstore scene was the number of four-legged friends. Many a shop featured friendly and book-loving cats. These animals provide comfort to younger readers, encouraging them to practice their reading skills. The cats also help to add a sense of “home” to the stores, which makes them all the more inviting.

Employing rescue cats is also helpful to the city as a whole, clearing out shelters and providing a warm place for kitties who would otherwise live in a cage.

The cats have left quite a legacy in some of Seattle’s most beloved bookstores.

Take Ophelia’s, for example. “Ophelia was our first cat,” owner Jill Levine told me.

Twenty-six years ago, the cat supervised the grand opening of Fremont’s used bookstore, and her legacy continued with its second cat, Claudia, who has just retired at the ripe age of 18, now living at home with Levine while she searches for the next feline supervisor. “Eighteen is a long time to work at one job,” Levine chuckled.

King’s Books, in Tacoma, is ruled by a chunky tuxedo cat named Herbert. “About five years ago, we adopted him,” owner sweet pea Flaherty said, as they introduced me to the loveable feline. “He’s the reason we do social media,” sweet pea laughed.

Of course, I can’t talk about the legacy of bookstore cats without mentioning the iconic Twice Sold Tales in Capitol Hill.

With six rescue cats living there, it takes

the cake when it comes to being a kitty paradise. Purring can be heard from blocks away when the kitty supervisors are receiving their tips.

A book lover’s town After meeting so many amazing readers and dedicated citizens, I can confidently say that Seattle is a book lover’s town.

Whether you read to escape into a world of fantasy and romance or learn about new places, cultures, and histories, there is a store, and a dedicated owner, waiting for you with a recommendation. Over the summer, I curated a reading list through the SGN’s first-ever Instagram book club. Each owner or manager I talked to gave me a different book to explore, while also providing insight into their tastes and interests as readers. The result has been a list that is as unique and diverse as the readers of Seattle.

Summer is now over, but our reading doesn’t have to stop. We have decided to continue our book club into the fall, inspired by the dedicated readers who are continuously stocking shelves with Queer stories. The fall book club will highlight some of the best spooky recommendations I received from readers, owners, and managers throughout my summer book adventure. Thank you for reading along with me.

I can’t wait to explore more pages with you!

The SGN’s book club can be found on Instagram @sgn_books.

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

Photos courtesy of the publishers

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9

Film

Chilling Martyrs Lane sees family terror through the eyes of a child

Martyrs Lane – Photo courtesy of Shudder

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer MARTYRS LANE Shudder Leah (Kiera Thompson) is 10 years old.

While her older sister Bex (Hannah Rae), weeks away from heading to university, tells her that’s far too young to know much about the world, she’s still old enough to know there’s something strange going on with their mother Sarah (Denise Gough).

Even as their father Thomas (Steven Cree) attempts to make everything appear nor-

mal, Leah knows something is off, and this nagging thought that it’s somehow her fault makes this recognition even worse.

Things become even more mysterious when Leah finds a strange lock of blonde hair in the pendant her mother wears. She subsequently meets a doe-eyed little girl (Sienna Sayer) who claims she doesn’t know her own name. The two become quick friends, playing together each evening. But Leah begins to believe there’s something vaguely unearthly about her new acquaintance, and it’s connected to that hair. Is she a ghost? An angel? Or something even more sinister?

There are two puzzles for the pint-sized heroine in Martyrs Lane to put together, both of them sharing multiple pieces. Leah is sent on a quest to find that lock of hair when it suddenly goes missing, and in her search also uncovers the identity of her new playmate, as well as the reason Sarah keeps her youngest daughter at arm’s length.

It is an arrestingly haunting tale, beautifully handled with majestically subtle confidence by writer-director Ruth Platt.

There’s an unnerving calm built into the film’s DNA that’s unsettlingly fascinating, while the emotional through-line that links Leah and her moonlight visitor brought a

Playfully terrifying

Ruth Platt’s explores emotionally cathartic supernatural horror with Martyrs Lane

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer Martyrs Lane is an emotionally complex thriller revolving around young Leah’s potentially hazardous friendship with another youngster, Rachel, who after a short while Leah can only surmise is a ghost. It is a dual mystery wherein Leah must both discover who this strange visitor who comes to her window each night is, while also figuring out why her own mother is so sad and keeps her mostly at arm’s length.

Writer-director Ruth Platt has created a marvelously powerful supernatural chiller.

At various points it reminded me of some sort of eerie combination of Jack Clayton’s The Innocents, Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Frank LaLoggia’s Lady in White, and Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone. Yet Platt also delivers an imaginatively unique tale, one that travels into emotional crooks and crevices that are frequently devastating.

Most of all, the film features performances from child actors Kiera Thompson and Sienna Sayer that easily rank among the year’s best. The duo showcases incredible chemistry, working in such nervily precise tandem that the overall effect they had upon me was almost hypnotic.

see PLATT page 15

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Ruth Platt – Photo courtesy of United Agents

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lump to my throat and a small handful of well-earned tears to the corners of my eyes.

This couldn’t have been easy to pull off.

The tale is seen from Leah’s viewpoint, and the relationship between the two little girls is the center around which everything revolves. While the identity of Leah’s ethereal nighttime guest is not altogether shocking, this doesn’t diminish the heartrending effect the climactic reveal had on me.

Platt keeps things at a measured pace.

There is no hurry to her storytelling, so even at a brief 96 minutes, the director still isn’t afraid to take her time delivering thrills and chills. This does mean it takes a little while for suspense to slip into overdrive, and as eerie as things are, it wasn’t until roughly the halfway point that I could start to feel goosebumps on my arms and a shiver run up and down my spine.

What Platt is terrific at is generating anxiety. I think I spent my entire first viewing of the picture — I’ve watched it twice — resting on stomach-churning pins and needles. This means that, when things do start to get tense, they do so with purposefully disquieting vigor. Once Leah starts assembling the shards of each splintered clue and begins to figure things out on her own, I was at the edge of my seat, my eyes resolutely transfixed on the screen, eager to see what was going to happen next.

Both Thompson and Sayer are extraordinary. These are two of the best child performances I’ve seen this year, each working in exquisite tandem with their equally diminutive co-star. While the latter showcases a playful ferocity that grows in dangerous glee as things go along, the former has an internalized intensity that burns right through the screen. Platt places the success of the entire film squarely upon Thompson and Sayer’s shoulders, her risk paying off in spades, each actress delivering in ways that took me by surprise.

There are similarities to previous children-in-peril horror tales, most notably features as disparate as Jack Clayton’s The Innocents, Frank LaLoggia’s Lady in White, and Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. But Platt isn’t copying anyone.

Martyrs Lane walks down its own unique moonlit path with imaginative determination. The final moments have a discomforting emotional elegance that is lovely and heartbreaking in equal measure, all of which I’ll be happily pondering for quite some time.

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Film

PLATT

continued from page 10 I sat down over Zoom to chat with Platt about Martyrs Lane. Some portions of our conversation do tread into spoiler territory. Nothing too serious, but I feel it best to point that out all the same. Here are the edited transcripts: Sara Michelle Fetters: I have to say, this was a movie where, while I was watching it, I was this giant ball of tension the entire time. I honestly didn’t realize how much I liked it until that ball dissipated into well-earned tears right at the end.

Ruth Platt: That’s very cool. I’m really glad that worked. I hoped for that release at the end, so I’m glad that worked for you.

SMF: This journey that Leah goes on, where did the inspiration for that come from?

RP: I think there are several influences.

It’s not an autobiographical story, but there is an autobiographical element, which are my own memories of being a child. My parents were older, and my sisters and brothers were much older than I was, and I was alone quite a lot in this big old house that wasn’t ours but kind of was, in that we lived in it.

There was a lot of feeling alone and overhearing stuff. Of wanting to know more and wanting to be involved but not being involved. Your child imagination kind of fills in the dots, especially if you have this vivid imagination, which I did.

That was definitely the catalyst for the story. But then, literature, especially gothic literature, and cinema, that ghost story cinema, much like Guillermo del Toro and the kind of child’s-eye view of life found in The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth.

There’s also an Alejandro G. Iñárritu film called Biutiful with Javier Bardem. It’s kind of this very socio-realistic story but also has a ghost story element to it which I found interesting. It’s kind of all those elements, I think, combined and filtered through the sound of my brain.

SMF: Were you at all anxious or trepidatious exploring these themes, especially ones relating to grief and loss as seen through a childlike lens?

RP: Yes. I think that was a worry for everybody, actually, while we were in development. Tonally that was something people worried about. You want to protect your child performers and you don’t want to exploit them.

I remember people saying that Linda Blair in The Exorcist was really traumatized, and I think that’s a fantastic movie. I don’t know how much she was traumatized, or if she was traumatized, but you have a responsibility to the child performers to make them feel safe and protected.

What I tried to work on was, rather than kind of delivering the whole story out to them, I was focused on [Kiera Thompson and Sienna Sayer] being in the moment, on that relationship with each other. I wanted them to be these two little kids, to keep them in the now, that spontaneity of thought and playfulness. I did not want to put the pressure of performance on them or the pressure of the whole arc of the story. I tried to keep them in their childhood bubbles, their children bubbles.

But this was definitely something we were very aware of. Even then, some of the stuff they loved doing, like Sienna, who got to wear some nasty makeup… She was just really, really into it. If you keep it playful, they know it’s all make-believe, and children have dark imaginations. As long as you’re respectful and careful with that, I think it’s something you don’t have to be too scared of.

SMF: I think that’s another great thing about the film. You treat the kids respectfully. You let them still be children, especially in the case of Leah. But you don’t spoon-feed things to them. You don’t overexplain or coddle. You let them learn about what’s going on in this world for themselves, which is refreshing. So

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Martyrs Lane – Photo courtesy of Shudder

many of these types of films want to overprotect the viewer because they’re overprotecting the child. Am I onto something there?

RP: I think so. That is the tightrope you’re walking all the time: keeping that sort of respectfulness and being true to that child’s eye, that child’s presence in the film. Keeping that very naturalistic. Not exploitative.

Not too genre.

But you also have to allow enough darkness, in the film and in the world, so you’re not coddling or spoon-feeding an emotional narrative, or a safe narrative, or whatever that is, to the adult viewer, and I think we did it. We found it by intuitively working with those children, finding what they’re comfortable with and what makes them tick. What they understand. Keeping them in that moment.

They know it’s make-believe, but even if they were in that environment, in that situation in real life, they would not be privy to too much. You keep them in a situation where they don’t need to know everything.

They just need to know what they’re experiencing right at that moment.

SMF: With Rachel, by the nature of who or what she is, she does know more, right? At least, we assume she does.

But even then, there are still pieces missing. This makes for an interesting dual mystery. Leah is not only solving the mystery of why is this relationship so difficult with her mother, but also why this new girl is connected to them.

When you’re manufacturing this puzzle, when you’re putting these pieces together, what was that assembly process like, to make sure all of these disparate, disjointed, angular elements connected so that they completed a finished picture?

RP: That’s interesting, right? For me, the house was like the mother’s brain. Downstairs was kind of her daytime self: very busy, filled with distractions. Nighttime’s sort of subconscious dream state was the upstairs.

In my mind, Leah is almost like a little ghost as well. She’s almost invisible to her mother. And then the actual little ghost, Rachel, is invisible, too, and they both want to be heard. They both want to be seen. They have different ways of doing that, but I think they’re sort of mirror images of each other.

Both are curious, but Rachel is curious about the stuff that she hasn’t experienced. She wants to be let in to experience these things.

She craves that living world. For Leah, she craves the love, the cherishing she believes the other one had, maybe still has.

So they’re both fascinated by what the other has, or what they perceive the other one has. They want something from each other. It’s that little exchange of information, and reward and punishment, I guess, that fuels their relationship and makes it

interesting.

SMF: How did you find Kiera Thompson and Sienna Sayer? They’re both wonderful. Also, you’re dealing with children who undeniably have a connection; there is chemistry there. I can only assume they must have become great friends while working together.

How do you keep that friendship sort of on a razor’s edge so that they’re not too friendly in front of the camera? How do you make sure the tension remains between them when you’re filming?

RP: We saw a lot of children, as many as we could. We started to put them in pairs, and what was interesting about Kiera and Sienna is that we knew they were fantastic, but they were even more fantastic when they were together. They had this chemistry, and it was so palpable from quite early on. We did some screen tests with them in the location, just some improvisations, and you can’t manufacture that kind of chemistry or that kind of energy. It was really interesting.

Also, I wouldn’t say one was more powerful than the other. I think Kiera is very strong. But Sienna, she has this extrovert nature, and Kiera is slightly quieter. And it’s not that Kiera is weaker. She isn’t. There was just this difference in their energy.

They complemented each other, like dark and light. That just worked so well.

SMF: It’s interesting you bring that up. There is a forcefulness to Sienna, where she is sort of pushing herself into the story, where Rachel is almost forcing her way into Leah’s world.

I don’t want to give anything away, and I don’t want to talk in too great a detail, but there’s a wonderful scene about the two-thirds mark, where Leah finally stands up for herself. Kiera’s performance has been so quiet, so meditative, so thoughtful, that this moment is a big jolt. And it works, mainly because it’s something you would imagine a kid in a similar sort of situation would do.

When you’re dealing with kids and you have moments like this built into your story, do you try to film mostly in sequence? Or, just because of budget limitations and the nature of filming such a technically precise project such as this, was that not possible? How did you navigate these tonal modulations?

RP: That’s definitely what we thought we’d have to do, filming in sequence. But we didn’t have to.

I mean, first of all, we couldn’t: Budgets and just the chaos involved with trying to do that. Child hours on the set. Everything else that happens during a shoot. We couldn’t film in sequence.

But I started to realize Kiera and Sienna didn’t need that because they didn’t need the story arc. What they needed was to be

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in the moment. They just played off each other so well. There’d be scenes where I would do it line by line: Try it like this.

Maybe if you’re thinking like this. Try this with her. What do you want from her there?

We played it line by line.

But there were other scenes where I could just film them and they would work it out for themselves. I was just like, I’m not getting involved. It was so truthful and natural. They knew each other so well by that point, and they were great friends with this incredible energy.

Sienna has this quiet bravado, a fantastic kind of mischievousness to her. It was so palpable and was so lovely to see. Kiera is so quiet, so intense. But she can’t be messed around with. It’s a natural thing in her. It is something you can’t manufacture. That was equally lovely.

SMF: What is it about supernatural tales of horror that allow for this freedom to examine grief in a way that is so powerful yet remains so entertaining that you don’t feel like you’re being emotionally smothered in the same way that sometimes happens with a straightforward melodrama?

RP: I can only get back to psychology and nightmares, to Jung. We all have this kind of primal imagination. I assume we all do. I know I do. I’ve always had these vivid nightmares, and they’re very cathartic. I think we need those extremes of emotion to have a symbolic kind of focus. If you nail things down too much and make things very precise and small, make the drama too domesticated, things can kind of lose their wider resonance.

I think through symbolic kinds of imagery, the horror genre is something collective we can all experience. We can put our own life experiences into that viewing experience. I think that’s more collective.

We all experience trauma, grief, pain, and loss, all of these things. Through the genre lens, I think we can identify what’s familiar to us and then share it in kind of a collective process. It also allows us to see and accept things that are unfamiliar to us as well. I hope that makes sense.

SMF: What do you hope audiences take away after they’ve watched the film?

RP: I hope they connect to it in some way and that it resonates with them in whatever way that is. I hope they have an emotional experience, one like you described at the beginning, which was really great to hear.

An emotional experience that moves and shifts through the piece. I hope it keeps them engaged, and I hope it keeps them entertained. I wanted to make something entertaining, but a film that also resonates emotionally.

And I hope it scares you a little bit. [laughs]

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Op-Ed

Homeschooling gains popularity among Black families while officials push whitewashing education

Photo by Monstera / Pexels

Whether we realize it or not, homeschooling has long been considered the territory of white, primarily religious families with the time and money to do so. Most often they are seeking individualized and advanced coursework for their gifted children, while most people of other races who take that plunge are trying to gain fairness and a quality education for their equally deserving children.

Even before the pandemic closed schools in 2019, the number of children being homeschooled had been steadily rising, with the most significant increases seen among Black, Latino, and Asian households. Now, after having been offered homeschooling as the primary option in the 2020 academic year, the portion of parents withdrawing their children from public or private schools has jumped from 5% to 11%.

However, the sharpest growth has been among Black families. Although they typically don’t have the time or the means to offer their children this option, or tend to avoid it out of respect for those who fought for equal education under Brown v. Board of Education, the percentage of Black students homeschooled before the pandemic now sits at 16%, up from 3%.

Educators are hoping that a rise in vaccination rates and decline in infection rates will be enough to persuade these parents

to bring their children back to classrooms, most likely because public schools rely on per-pupil funding from state governments. What they aren’t considering is that despite 75% of the Black community being against vaccinations, they also have larger concerns about their children’s education.

These could lead to this homeschooling upswing being permanent.

It’s no secret that inequality is still deeply rooted in the American public school system. Academic achievement is still correlated to whiteness, and the gaps in performance between white and Asian students and Black and Latino students prove that.

Before the pandemic, Black families who participated in homeschooling were often pushed out of traditional school systems.

Their children suffered from racist treatment in classrooms that drastically affected their education.

Black parents have long been aware that schools were failing their children and that racial disparities include subject matter (what is taught and what isn’t) as well as treatment. Black students suffer from a lack of academic support in the classroom, and bullying from students as well as teachers. Known to be more harshly punished in schools, Black students are also more likely to be arrested, and are intentionally being left behind while their parents are being ignored by school administrators.

In an on-brand move for the American government, state officials and textbook

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by Janice Athill SGN Contributing Writer

SGN

It’s no secret that inequality is still deeply rooted in the American public school system.

Academic achievement is still correlated to whiteness, and the gaps in performance between white and Asian students and Black and Latino students prove that. manufacturers have been attempting to rewrite history in the worst ways, from the 2015 McGraw-Hill textbook scandal — in which slavery was described as “the immigration of workers,” with no mention of Africans being forced to the US — to the bills recently proposed that bar K-12 schools from teaching “certain concepts related to race.”

The website Education Week states that as of August 26, 2021, 27 states have introduced bills or other steps to restrict teaching critical race theory or limit how teachers can discuss racism and sexism.

Its analysis also states that Republicans in Congress want to cut funding for schools that use lessons based on “The 1619 Project” by the New York Times, which reexamines US history through the enduring effects of slavery.

Moreover, Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman introduced a bill that dictates

how DC public school teachers can discuss racism and sexism, and Republican Rep. Vicky Hartzler has proposed legislation that would forbid teaching critical race theory in military schools.

If schools are banned from talking about racial issues in the classroom, all students go without learning most of our nation’s history. It’s important for all children to learn about race, so history doesn’t repeat itself. But it’s especially important for Black children. This is how they learn who they are and don’t hate themselves for being Black.

Many parents were already frustrated with their children’s education, long before the pandemic. Circumstances just provided an opportunity to give homeschooling a try, and these new racist restrictions will serve as a reason to permanently pursue homeschooling as a way to avoid Black children receiving a whitewashed education.

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Square Pegs fills gap in intersection between Queer and autistic identities

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Contributing Writer The LGBTQ community is one in which connections can be found based on shared experiences. It is these common experiences that unite us, that help us find solidarity with others who feel the same as we do, and reaffirm that we are not as weird and isolated as we may have once believed.

Not all Queer identities are the same, of course, and when race, class, and ability are added into the mix, our experiences can once again feel isolating, even within Queer spaces.

For members of the LGBTQ gang who also find themselves on the autistic spectrum, their intersecting identities can lead them to feel excluded from Queer spaces, due to a lack of understanding and access needs not being met.

Square Pegs support groups Seattleite Zack Siddeek saw a need for more local organizations for those on the autistic spectrum, so he stepped in to run Square Pegs, a network of social groups for autistic adults, in 2016.

Founded in 2011, Square Pegs is a conglomeration of about 18 separate groups that meet once a month. Since its origin, the organization has broken into smaller groups, including those specifically for Queer and nonbinary autistic people and autistic women.

“The cross-pollination between the Queer community and the autistic community is quite prevalent,” said Siddeek. “I would guess that at least anywhere from 25 to 45% of autistic folks are Queer.”

The LGBTQ-specific subgroups of Square Pegs provide spaces for people to connect with others who might share the same experiences. “I’ve just heard a lot of folks in the groups I have run say that they appreciate finding those who have had the same experiences they have,” added Siddeek, “whether it be trying to come to terms with both their trans and autistic identities or trying to find support from their families, only to find rejection and ostracization.

“In regards to how it helps folks, a lot have said it’s been great for their mental health. It’s been great for just having a community and a sense of belonging. It sort of helps them realize that they’re not alone.

When you’re in an intersection of an intersection, you know it’s so hard to find others like you.”

Siddeek has taken on an important role in Square Pegs, overseeing the recruitment of new group facilitators and providing some light training and background support to group leaders. In his position, he has come to see many of the ways autistic people have to adapt to fit in with other groups, especially when they try to become more active in LGBTQ spaces. This can become very strenuous on autistic people, who are essentially forced back into the closet by hiding their disability in order to be accepted in social circles.

“Autistic folks often have to deal with what we call ‘masking.’ It’s hiding, essentially, our autistic traits for the comfort of the non-autistic people around us. That also directly impacts how we socialize with others. It can just be exhausting. Social groups are a great way for folks to not have to put that burden on themselves.”

Left out of the LGBTQ community While the LGBTQ community is big on accepting others and proudly coming out of the closet, some Queer spaces are still exclusionary toward autistic people.

“A lot of the LGBT spaces are in loud and crowded noisy bars, with lots of bright flashing lights and all of that, and all of that makes it inaccessible spaces for autistic folks out there,” said Siddeek.

“A lot of people have said that they just really don’t feel like they have a space in the Queer community because of that, and

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Photo courtesy of Zack Siddek

Founded in 2011, Square Pegs is a conglomeration of about 18 separate groups that meet once a month. Since its origin, the organization has broken into smaller groups, including those specifically for Queer and nonbinary autistic people and autistic women. it has been really hard for them to find their identity and a place of belonging. So that’s something that needs to be looked at.”

Rick Grossman, who leads an LGBTQ Square Pegs meetup on Thursday nights, echoed Siddeek’s remarks about the inaccessibility of many Queer spaces. “When I hear shouting it reminds me of anger and I want to pull away from that,” he said. “And then of course in a bar, you just can’t hear anyone.

“Also, whether I’m on the spectrum, or for other reasons, I just tend to be on the shy side, and the environment there is just very competitive.”

Grossman has experienced a fair share of social isolation, due in part to the way the general public has been socialized to understand both sexuality and disability.

“I find it very difficult to make friends,” he explained. “I believe that people just don’t like me. I can never really quite connect with anyone. At the least, I come off as quirky to people, and people tend to avoid that. I have some different opinions on things and different ways of approaching things, and I think people want to connect with people who are like themselves.”

When it comes to putting his autism into words, Grossman explained that he often experiences what others might describe as being lost in translation. “There’s some set of norms, body language, word usage, whatever, and I just don’t get it,” he said.

“As a result, I can piss people off.”

“People have very different impressions of me, who I am,” he added. “I just don’t get it. People are angry at me and they insist because, you know, I have two arms and two legs, that it’s a willful choice or something, and I frankly have no idea, and I am constantly asking people, ‘What am I doing that gives you that impression?’ And either

people aren’t observant enough, or they’re maybe trying to be kind.

“It’s kind of like suddenly landing on another planet and playing a game, but you don’t know what the rules are, and everyone assumes you know.”

Unequal access to health care Accessibility is the main issue when it comes to mainstream acceptance of people with LGBTQ and autistic identities. Not only in physical settings, but also when it comes to access to healthcare.

“LGBTQ autistic folks have much worse outcomes than either autistic or LGBTQ folks. It’s not like 1 + 1 = 2 in this case; it’s like 1 + 1 = 8 or 9 in a lot of cases, so it can be really hard for them to find really good supportive mental health services for a big variety of reasons,” Siddeek said, explaining how both LGBTQ and autistic identities often lead to mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. And when an individual holds both identities, the likelihood of struggling with mental health is multiplied.

For autistic people who aren’t enrolled in the Developmental Disabilities Administration, which is about 70% of them, there are no real formal mental health supports, so most have to use local mental health systems, especially because most are on Medicaid.

The community has a suicide rate that is nine times greater than the general population, and Siddeek believes it is directly related to the fact that mental healthcare is so inaccessible and hard to find. (There’s also an 80% unemployment rate among autistic people.)

Jack Duroc-Danner is another LGBTQ group leader in Square Pegs. He has struggled in the past to find healthcare providers who understand his identities. “A lot of

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times, therapists aren’t properly trained in either LGBTQIA identities or autism,” he said, “but then when you combine the two, a lot of times doctors and therapists struggle with how to deal with this population.

Just trying to exist as either one in society is challenging, but when you’re both it just sort of just amplifies difficulties.

“And then there’s also the other identities that we have, because we all contain identities that intersect. So, you know, race, class, access to resources, all of these things also intersect with these identities.”

Finding therapists and programs that can understand LGBTQ people on the autism spectrum becomes even more difficult for those who don’t seek a diagnosis. “I’ve not been diagnosed,” Grossman explained.

“The process… is expensive, it is long, it requires interviews with your elementary school teachers, your parents, etc. They’re all dead.

“And what do I get after that? A piece of paper that says I’m on the autistic spectrum, and what does that do? There are no special programs for adults on the autistic spectrum. The only thing in Seattle is a peer support group, and we just get together and complain and talk about our problems.

There’s no special therapist to help us.”

Don’t ask, don’t tell There are many reasons why this lack of adequate mental health access exists, but a lack of authentic dialogue around the experiences of autistic people is ultimately what it comes down to.

“I think one of the biggest barriers we face, and research has shown this, is that when autistic people are around non-autistic people it sort of puts the non-autistic people in a heightened sense of anxiety, just because of the different way we interact and socialize,” said Siddeek.

“So, research has shown that [white] autistic folks face implicit bias at a level similar to what folks of color encounter, and so that impacts us everywhere, from schools to forming friendships to trying to get and hold jobs…

“I think a lot of it just comes down to the idea that difference is a bad thing, difference creates discomfort, and what autistic people are taught from our parents and our providers is that success means being indistinguishable from our peers,” Siddeek said.

see SQUARE PEGS page 18

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Op-Ed SQUARE PEGS continued from page 17

“We have to hide our autistic traits to have the best outcomes, but what the research is now showing us that the more energy we as autistic people spend hiding our autistic traits, the more likely we are to have suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety. And I know there’s a lot of [correlation with] the LGBTQ community there as well.

“I think it starts with not necessarily being afraid of difference, not seeing difference as creepy, and being more accepting of the different ways autistic folks might socialize with others and engage with others. I know it’s easier said than done, but that’s what needs to happen for my people to stop dying, essentially.”

With the general public often failing to understand the experiences of the autistic community, and often pressuring them to mask their condition to assimilate, systems continue to serve neurotypical people without considering the needs of neurodivergent ones.

Autistic people of color face even more struggles. “The way our autism is seen is directly impacted by the color of our skin,” Siddeek said. “Like if I’m having a meltdown in public, for instance, I probably won’t have to worry about getting shot by the police, but for Black and Brown autistics, that’s always on the forefront of their minds, and it just puts all the more pressure on them.

“For a lot of us, autism is an invisible disability. Autistic folks of color, similar to women, may not be particularly believed if they disclose that they’re autistic, and they will have to fight much harder to get the services and support that someone like me would.”

Not all autistic people are asexual The fight to be seen and believed is common among autistic adults, especially when it comes to sexuality. “Disabled folks are much less likely to receive sex education,” said Siddeek. “That can lead to very high rates of sexual assaults and boundary violations, especially for women and femalebodied folks.”

The people who most often serve as gatekeepers to those services are parents and guardians, who are sometimes very uncomfortable with their differently-abled children learning about sex and sexuality.

This has led to society forming expectations around differently-abled people that are just not accurate. Often those with physical or intellectual disabilities are assumed to be asexual, with neurotypical people unable to understand that adults with disabilities are still adults and still experience sexual desire.

Since innocence and asexuality are often ascribed to autistic people, it can be very hard for those who are Queer to be accepted when they try to come out. This was DurocDanner’s experience. “I was in high school, I was a sophomore or a junior,” he said. “It was one of those things where, in general, my family was accepting of LGBTQIA individuals, but at the time, what they were told by my therapist was that I was too developmentally delayed to understand the difference between friendship and sexuality and I was just confused. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t believe me when I said how I identified, but what I realize [now] is [that] it was because this was the early 2000s, [when] Lesbians were, for lack of a better word, popular. My therapists and parents thought I was just copying what I saw in People magazine.

“On one hand, they were accepting of these identities, but on the other hand, they didn’t think I could be LGBTQIA, because they didn’t think I could ascertain the difference between friendship and sexuality.”

While Duroc-Danner’s family eventually came around and accepted him for all his identities now, this is not always the case for others.

“I had no friends as a child. I couldn’t relate to people and they couldn’t relate to me,” Grossman remembered. “It wasn’t until junior high school that I had a friend.

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Photo courtesy of Zack Siddek

We sat next to each other in science class.

I don’t know how we became friends, but we just did. We did everything together through high school. In high school, I officially came out, and I guess the pendulum swung a little too far, and maybe I talked about being Gay too much, but he just said he couldn’t see me anymore.”

While Grossman’s story is from the ’70s, it still reflects many of the experiences felt by autistic LGBTQ people today.

The rejection that early stigmatization from family members creates can be very detrimental to young people trying to form an identity. “I think the autistic community and the Queer community are the only ones where we don’t share the same identities as our parents,” said Siddeek

Fighting shame tactics Grossman grew up at a time when families were ashamed to have a disabled child or an LGBTQ child. The stigma around a diagnosis is what led Grossman’s parents to never seek one for him.

“My parents had expectations of what I was going to do to fulfill their dreams, and that never really worked. I wasn’t the kind of student my mother expected of me. I was pretty much considered a failure by the family,” he said.

When he came out as Gay, he recognized that the path his parents expected him to follow was not for him. Today he still struggles to see himself outside of the failed expectations of his parents.

Siddeek had a similar experience when it came to hesitation from his parents, although they eventually did receive a diagnosis for him. “My pediatricians flagged me for potentially being autistic when I was two, and my parents didn’t pursue a diagnosis until I was ten or eleven,” he said. “It’s a very common story, and right now a lot of parents want their kids to lose their diagnosis or lose their autism. That’s what a lot of them see as success, and a lot of providers have bought into that as well.

“From what I’ve seen, we can’t stop being autistic; we can just repress our symptoms, and that leads to really bad outcomes as well, ten or fifteen years later.”

The rejection that early stigmatization from family members creates can be very detrimental to young people trying to form an identity. “I think the autistic community and the Queer community are the only ones where we don’t share the same identities as our parents,” said Siddeek.

Acceptance and representation What the autistic community needs, like all marginalized communities, is acceptance. For the LGBTQ community, greater acceptance came about through media and conversations, once people collectively decided to stop hiding and assimilating, LGBTQ people were able to find spaces and communities where they could be celebrated. With time the general public grew to understand more about these identities, usually gaining education through media representation.

However, when it comes to the autistic community, this tactic has not been quite as successful. “Historically, the education has not been happening from autistic people ourselves,” Siddeek said.

Organizations like Autism Speaks, which have done more harm than good for autistic people, are often led by neurotypical “allies” and parents, who give the impression that autistic people are incapable of speaking for themselves.

Hearing directly from autistic people is the best way to get authentic representation.

Siddeek encourages people to find creators on TikTok and YouTube who talk about their own experiences. These sources are much more accurate and organic.

When the media does attempt to feature stories about autistic people, they need to collaborate with actual autistic people when coming up with their stories, plots, and characters. Representations such as Sia’s film Music tend to perpetuate stereotypes and caricatures of autistic people, leading to further misinformation among the general public.

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“When you look at the media, even today, the number of characters who are queer and neurodiverse are vanishingly rare, and when you add in queer, neurodiverse, and not white, then it becomes practically nonexistent,” Duroc-Danner added. “There is a problem, in movies and TV, with a lack of diversity behind the camera. It’s still very hard to find accurate representation of queer and neurodiverse [people] in media, and actually, I see it showing up more in children’s media, like with She-Ra.” Still, Duroc-Danner has hope that we are entering into a new world when it comes to a greater understanding of disability. “There’s going to be a cultural shift in attitudes around disability,” he said, “in large part due to COVID and how so many people are going to need some sort of long-term support, whether it’s due to long- term COVID syndrome or having to deal with the trauma of seeing loved ones die of COVID. Regardless of what it is, there are going to be a lot more people who will either be disabled or need some kind of assistance, and because of that, it will shift our cultural conversation.”

A shift in acceptance may also help a younger generation of parents seek a diagnosis without internalized bias or stigmatization.

The first step to seeing these changes is to just start talking about them. All communities can do better in becoming more accessible to people with autism. The conversation can begin with you. How are your social circles accepting of people with different abilities? What stereotypes do you still carry?

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

National News

Survey shows LGBT adults are more likely to face food and economic insecurity than non-LGBT adults during COVID-19

Photo by cottonbro / Pexels

by Hannah Saunders SGN Contributing Writer The Household Pulse Survey (HPS), which operates under the US Census Bureau, is a short, 20-minute online survey focusing on understanding how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted American households. The survey was designed to display real-time information and data on the toll of the pandemic in the lives of both individuals and families. Questions include how the pandemic has affected one’s childcare, employment, housing, food security, household spending, and intentions to get a vaccine, among others.

The HPS is in Phase 3.2, which began on July 21, 2021, and will continue until October. This phase was the first time the Census Bureau has asked questions regarding gender identity and sexual orientation.

The original survey asked respondents whether they were male or female, but this was rephrased, and several more questions were added: “What sex were you assigned at birth on your original birth certificate?”

(Choices: Male or Female); “Do you currently describe yourself as male, female, or transgender?” (Choices: Male, Female, Transgender, None of these); and “Which of the following best represents how you think of yourself?” (Choices: Gay or Lesbian; Straight, that is, not gay or lesbian; Bisexual; Something else; I don’t know).

Because of these new questions, the census bureau has been better able to understand how the lives of LGBTQ Americans are being shaped by the pandemic.

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Results The LGBT adult population reported residing in households with greater rates of food and economic insecurity compared to non-LGBT Americans. As of August 11, 2021, about 13.1% of LGBT adults resided in a household that experienced food insecurity within the past seven days, compared to 7.2% of non-LGBT adults. In addition, about 36.6% of LGBT adults resided in a household that experienced difficulty paying for usual household expenses, compared to 26.1% of non-LGBT adults.

About 16.8% of non-LGBT adults resided in a household with lost employment income, compared to 19.8% of LGBT adults.

For individuals residing in a household that was rented or owned with a mortgage loan, 6.0% of non-LGBT adults expressed a lack of confidence in their ability to make their next housing payment on time, compared to 8.2% of LGBT adults.

Although inequalities between LGBT and non-LGBT adults have always been present in society, the coronavirus pandemic has allowed for these to become more pronounced. The senior vice president for programs, research and training at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Jay Brown, said in a written statement that the HPS “highlight[s] what we have long known: LGBTQ+ Americans disproportionately bear the brunt of economic hardships, from food insecurity to unemployment.”

A 2020 HRC briefing stated that 40% of LGBTQ people work in food service, hospitals, retail and education — which were all industries significantly impacted by the pandemic, from shutdowns to greater rates of exposure to the virus.

Although inequalities between LGBT and non-LGBT adults have always been present in society, the coronavirus pandemic has allowed for these to become more pronounced.

Week 36 of the Phase 3.2 HPS Survey took place from August 18 to August 30, 2021. Below is data comparing LGBT and non-LGBT difficulties. All respondents were 18 years of age or older.

Experienced loss of employment income in last 4 weeks (self or household member): • 4,734,111 LGBT adults responded yes while 15,234,361 LGBT adults responded no • 32,460,955 non-LGBT adults responded yes while 174,918,963 non-LGBT adults responded no Food security in the last 7 days: • 10,911,087 LGBT adults had enough of the food they wanted, as did 135,238,913 non-LGBT adults • 4,651,524 LGBT adults had enough food, but not always the kinds they wanted, as did 36,956,918 non-LGBT adults • 1,850,244 LGBT adults sometimes didn’t have enough food to eat, as did 11,485,878 non-LGBT adults • 625,784 LGBT adults often did not have enough food to eat, as did 2,774,185 nonLGBT adults Difficulty paying for usual household expenses: • 6,820,790 LGBT adults experienced

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no difficulty, as did 97,565,181 non-LGBT adults • 5,349,317 LGBT adults experienced a little difficulty, as did 45,789,430 nonLGBT adults • 2,981,156 LGBT adults experienced somewhat difficulty, as did 29,956,437 nonLGBT adults • 3,376,236 LGBT adults experienced high difficulty, as did 19,291,232 nonLGBT adults Until October, Phase 3.2 of the HPS will continue to collect and release information about the social and economic impact of the pandemic biweekly.

The HPS defines an individual as being LGBT if a respondent reported that their sex at birth does not align with their current gender identity; if the respondent reported their sexual orientation as Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual; and if the respondent currently identifies as being Transgender.

For survey selection, the Census Bureau chooses an address at random and reaches out via text or email (with a few reminder updates). Respondents’ answers are confidential.

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National & International News

Melania Trump to headline Log Cabin Republican Gala, get award Event to be held at Mar-a-Lago

Photo by Andrew Harnik / AP

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Log Cabin Republicans — the homocon LGBT group — announced September 14 that Melania Trump would headline their annual Spirit of Lincoln gala and receive the group’s Spirit of Lincoln award.

According to the LCR, the award is given to “honor those who exemplify a commitment to enhancing personal freedom, encouraging individual responsibility, and ensuring equality under the law for all Americans.”

This year the event will be held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

In their press release announcing the

gala, the LCR hit new lows in their now customary toadying to Trump.

“During and after her time in office, First Lady Melania Trump has proven time and again her leadership” on equality issues, it said.

“Moreover, in the heat of the presidential election last year, the First Lady passionately reiterated her husband’s commitment to LGBT Americans, supported diversity of thought, and made clear that we are welcome members of the Republican Party, a historic moment not just for LGBT conservatives but for the history of the GOP.” Despite the LCR’s press release puffery, SGN readers will remember many high-

lights of Donald Trump’s “commitment to LGBT Americans”: • Rescinding Obama-era guidance to protect the civil rights of Transgender children in schools • Calling for a ban on Transgender service members in the armed forces, including kicking out existing Trans people effectively and proudly serving their country • Rescinding an Obama-era policy that protects Transgender workers, and reversing an Obama-era rule banning health care discrimination against Transgender people • Prioritizing the rights of religious communities over the rights of LGBT people • Rejecting a rule proposed by the Obama administration requiring “that same-sex

National news highlights

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Contributing Writer

Photo courtesy of NBC News

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spouses are recognized and afforded equal rights in certain Medicare and Medicaidparticipating facilities” • Appointing virulently anti-LGBT Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court, and flooding the federal courts with equally anti-LGBT judges • Endorsing several of the most antiLGBT candidates in US history, including Judge Roy Moore in Alabama According to the Washington Blade, Melania Trump has collaborated with the LCR on many occasions. During the 2020 election, she appeared in a video for Outspoken, the media arm of the LCR, saying “nothing could be further from the truth” that her husband is against LGBTQ people.

Brooklyn: Protest against anti-Gay violence calls for LGBTQ safe spaces NBC reported September 8 on a protest in Brooklyn over the “allegedly” antiGay assault of two men at a bodega last Saturday. Abimbola Adelaja, 36, and his friend, 28, were buying sandwiches when the assault occurred. They were beaten, stabbed, robbed, and subjected to anti-Gay slurs. Both victims are stable but shaken by the experience; Adelaja was treated for a collapsed lung, among other injuries. The protesters, Adelaja said, aimed to hold the owners of the bodega accountable for creating a safe space for LGBTQ people. “We’re here, we’re proud people,” he said, “and we’re going to stand up for ourselves.”

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Teacher fired for being Gay finally receives justice

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Contributing Writer After four long years, Charlotte, North Carolina, teacher Lonnie Billard has received justice.

Charlotte Catholic High School fired Billard from his position as a substitute teacher for engaging in “advocacy that went against the Catholic Church’s beliefs” after posting on his social media accounts about his upcoming wedding to his fiancé Richard.

Billard had been a dedicated employee of the school, teaching English and drama and even winning “Teacher of the Year” in 2012 before becoming a substitute. According to the Associated Press, he worked more than 12 weeks a year for Charlotte Catholic.

All of that changed in October 2014 when the assistant principal contacted Billard and informed him that he would no longer have a job with the school.

With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Billard filed a lawsuit in 2017 against the school, claiming wrongful termination on the grounds of sex discrimination.

After four years, the school is finally facing repercussions, now that its actions have been declared illegal by the state supreme court.

While no federal law exists yet to protect LGBTQ+ people from workplace discrimination, 23 states, including Washington, have laws that prohibit discrimina-

Lonnie Billard – Photo courtesy of WCNC Charlotte

tion based on gender identity and sexual orientation. North Carolina, however, has no explicit prohibitions for private employment discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. In 2020, though, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender employees from discrimination based on sex.

The school claimed to have acted under the guise of the First Amendment, which

grants individuals the right to religious freedom. The Supreme Court cited this amendment in the Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado decision of 2018, ruling then that it was legal for small businesses to refuse service to Gay people under the principle of religious freedom.

However, US District Judge Max Cogburn disagreed. He wrote in his ruling, “Plaintiff is a lay employee, who comes onto the campus of a religious school for

the limited purpose of teaching secular classes, with no mandate to inculcate students with Catholic teachings.”

The ruling indicates a possible shift in perspective. While anti-discrimination laws have been in place for decades, protecting gender, racial, and sexual minorities, businesses and organizations have often found ways around the law. Firing Billard for “advocacy,” however, was not a strong enough reason. Cogburn took a step toward progress, making a crucial differentiation between a political statement and the celebration of one’s identity.

Despite the ruling, the diocese of Charlotte has not had a change of heart. In a statement to the Charlotte Observer, it said, “The First Amendment, federal law, and recent Supreme Court decisions all recognize the rights of religious organizations to make employment decisions based on religious observance and preference.” It is still deliberating on how to proceed in the wake of the case, but some speculate it may try to appeal to a higher court.

The case is a difficult one, essentially pitting freedom of religion against freedom of speech and expression. Cogburn says the First Amendment right to the individual is more important than the First Amendment right of the organization.

After a years-long legal battle, Billard can finally rejoice, “After all this time, I have a sense of relief and a sense of vindication. Today’s decision validates that I did nothing wrong by being a gay man.”

CALIFORNIA continued from cover

Sixty-four percent said no.

Then they had to vote for potential replacements if Newsom was removed.

Those votes are now moot. But even among anti-Newsom votes, Jenner failed to gather much support, running far down the 46-name list of possible candidates.

After the results were in, Jenner told reporters that Newsom’s win was a “shame.”

“I can’t believe that this many people actually voted to keep him in office,” she lamented.

Although she is now 71, Jenner says she’s not done with politics. She recently told the Washington Post that she wouldn’t rule out another run for governor, or perhaps the Senate.

She said she was a “moderate” Republican among the multitude of candidates who hoped to unseat Newsom.

“That’s one of the things I will continue to fight for in the future: Is the Republican Party being more moderate and more inclusive to people? No matter what happens on this campaign, I will continue that fight,” Jenner said in her Post interview published even before the polls closed.

“The Republican Party needs to change, and to be honest with you, I’m the poster child for change. A little joke there, but it’s what they need to do.”

The GOP front-runner was conservative talk radio host and media personality Larry

Caitlyn Jenner – Noah Berger / AP

Elder. Elder had declined to say whether he would accept the results of the election, instead alluding to claims of fraud unsupported by evidence.

On election night, Jenner also began to throw out unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the recall election.

“We need election integrity! It needs to

be easy to legally vote and impossible to cheat,” she tweeted. “Voting is the bedrock to our democracy. #VoteYesOnTheRecall.”

Madrid: Hundreds protest against rising anti-Gay violence Reuters reported September 12 on a protest in Madrid against a rise in homophobic attacks in the country. Hundreds turned out for the event, calling for greater protections of LGBTQ rights with signs bearing messages like “justice” and “touch one of us, touch us all.” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had called an emergency meeting the day before to discuss how to reduce hate crimes, which have grown about 9% since 2014. Among the victims of said violence was nursing assistant Samuel Luiz, who was beaten to death in July.

Activists in Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, Spain – Photo by Susana Vera / Reuters

Mexico: Yucatán legalizes same-sex marriage, bans conversion therapy Them reported on August 30 that the Mexican state of Yucatán has legalized same-sex marriage and outlawed conversion therapy. The legislature redefined marriage in the state’s constitution as between two people rather than oppositesex couples only, and imposed a penalty of up to three years in prison for those who practice conversion therapy — or twice as long if the practice is inflicted on a minor.

Them noted that Yucatán is the 22nd state in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage, and after the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the state’s legislation, the remaining 11 states may face legal pressure to follow suit.

International news highlights

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Contributing Writer

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