SGN March 24, 2023

ISSUE 12

C E L E B R AT I N G

VOLUME 51

49 YEARS

F R I D AY

IN

MARCH 24, 2023

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

SEATTLE CLIMATE ACTIVISTS PROTEST CHASE BANK

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer Chants of “Sound the alarm!” could be heard up and down Broadway on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 21. Decked out in yellow jumpsuits, climate activists took to the streets to remind residents in Capitol Hill of the impending climate crisis and to call on some of the country’s largest fossil fuel investors to implement changes.

see PROTEST page 5

Photo by Lindsey Anderson

House Bill 1469:

How Washington plans to protect reproductive and gender-affirming care

Arkansas is the latest state to bar Trans students from gender-appropriate restrooms

Protestors gather in Downtown Seattle in the summer of 2022 – Photo by Lindsey Anderson

by Benny Loy SGN Contributing Writer With the overturning of Roe v Wade, people in states with laws banning abortion have sought care in Washington. Similarly, laws banning gender-affirming health

care have also motivated residents of other states to travel here. With the influx of people seeking care, there have been concerns about whether other states could pursue legal action against Washington patients and providers.

see BILL page 4

Photo by Mike Segar / Reuters

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill on March 21 that bars Transgender public school students from using gender-appropriate restrooms. Arkansas is the fourth state to do so.

The law applies to multiperson restrooms and locker rooms at public schools and charter schools serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It will take effect this summer, 90 days after the current legislative session adjourns.

see ARKANSAS page 18

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C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

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In this Issue

LOCAL NEWS 4 A&E 7 FILM 9 BOOKS 13 TRAVEL 15 ASK IZZY 16 NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS 17 MARCH 24, 2023

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BILL

Local News

continued from cover On March 16, the Washington State Legislature’s Senate Committee on Law and Justice held a public hearing. One of the bills discussed was HB 1469, potential legislation referred to as a shield law.

If passed, gender-affirming and reproductive care would be defined as protected services. If this bill passes into law, Washington would be a haven for those seeking such treatment. It would also remove any confusion or fear that another state’s judicial system might prosecute doctors for providing these services.

Rep. Drew Hansen spoke in favor of the bill, saying, “If other states want to be creative and aggressive in restricting abortion, Washington state can be creative and aggressive in fighting back… [The bill] eliminates the ability of other states to commandeer Washington state courts and judicial processes to enforce their own laws.”

People as far as Texas are escaping the draconian anti-abortion laws there to seek life-saving care here. Dr. Crystal Beal, representing the Western Washington Pediatric and Adolescent Gender Care Network, spoke at the hearing, on the issue of families searching for gender-affirming care: “We have seen dozens of youths and families moving or traveling to Washington to access gender-affirming care as health care becomes less accessible or banned in surrounding states… This legislation will save Trans youth lives.”

Cara Winter, a concerned citizen and mother of two, gave testimony based on her life experiences. She described how she has struggled with fertility issues and had suffered four miscarriages in her attempts to become a mother. Winter eventually succeeded in having two children and did not State Rep. Drew Hansen – Photo courtesy of WA House Democrats believe she could conceive again without therapy against Jacobs’ wishes. Jacobs then fertility treatments. lamented that “children are eating Tide pods However, at 39 years old, she found out and setting themselves on fire for social she was pregnant. She said, “I can’t handle media,” and that their son’s gender identity an unplanned, high-risk, geriatric pregwas the product of peer pressure. nancy with two little kids at home.” Winter At the crux of this issue are bodily received an abortion out of concern for her autonomy and state rights. Washington has health and hoped that other pregnant peoalready decided in favor of providing aborple could have the choice she had. tions and gender-affirming care. This shield Not all who testified were in support. law would protect our state’s right to pracRepresentatives of the Conservative Ladies tice these services without intervention. It of Washington, Human Life of Washington, would put into law the principle that, just as and Family Policy Institute of Washington came to express opposition to the bill. get gender-reassignment surgery. (In fact, very apparent when concerned citizen one could argue that Washington does not Their main argument was that, if passed, hormone treatment and bottom surgery is Gabriel Jacobs testified. Through tears, he have the right to impose its laws on other this bill, combined with Senate Bill 5599, unavailable until age 18 in Washington.) described how his child expressed that they states, other states do not have the right to would make the trafficking of children A purposeful or accidental misunder- identified as a boy at 16 and how their child impose their laws on Washington.

HB 1469 was scheduled to be discussed easier. SB 5599, if passed, would prevent standing of gender-affirming care and par- attempted suicide multiple times. Then at 18, guardians of homeless or runaway chil- ents’ say in their children’s lives was made their son made an appointment for hormone in an executive session on March 22. dren from being notified if there is a compelling reason to believe that notification would lead to abuse or neglect of the child.

A compelling reason includes when a child is seeking protected services.

Brad Payne of the Family Policy Institute said, “This bill and others in a long line of bills in session are promoting abortion, gender mutilation, and the erosion of parental rights.” He said that this bill would potentially shield children from their guardian’s “choice to intervene” and take their ability to “speak out against their children’s health concerns.”

Rebekah Gardea of the QLaw Foundation approved of the bill, saying, “Point blank, this bill will save lives.”

Dr. Katina Rue, DO, representing the Washington State Medical Association, testified as well: “The new patchwork of legality and the interplay between differing state laws has created a lot of uncertainty. The point of those restrictive laws is to engender fear. …Washington state physicians are dedicated to continuing to provide the full range of care services, including abortion and gender-affirming care, to our patients.”

More naysayers testified, including Alex Chrostowski with Gays Against Groomers; Oli London, a detransition activist; and a concerned citizen only going by “Team Freedom.” The consensus among those against the bill was that they believe children will Protestors gather in Downtown Seattle in the summer of 2022 – Photo by Lindsey Anderson

“If other states want to be creative and aggressive in restricting abortion, Washington state can be creative and aggressive in fighting back…”

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PROTEST

continued from cover The protest was organized by Third Act, Stop the Money Pipeline, and 350 Seattle.

Chasing a cause While a large group marched up Broadway with signs and chanting, a smaller group stationed themselves in front of the neighborhood’s Chase Bank.

“We are here protesting banks financing fossil fuel,” Akiksha Chatterja told the SGN. Stationed right outside the front doors, she held up a large blue and green painted banner that read “Love Wins!”

“Chase is one of the biggest financiers of fossil fuels globally,” Chatterja explained.

“We are here showing them we want climate justice.”

No more than 20 minutes after protesters had set up in front of the bank, uniformed security guards arrived, instructing them to move away from the bank’s entrance to prevent the disruption of business.

Disrupting Chase Bank’s business was all a part of the plan, however.

“Part of the action is to get customers of these banks to cut ties with them and stop banking with them,” Chatterja explained.

“A big part of this action is to cut up your cards and stop banking with the dirty banks.

Move your money.”

Latest IPCC report: climate change is getting worse Seattle’s protest follows the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. The IPCC is a global body dedicated to assessing climate change, like an environmentally focused United Nations.

This month, the organization released its Synthesis Report, which compiles climate data collected over the last seven years.

Like most reports released by the IPCC, the Synthesis Report is not great. It shows that climate change is continuing to worsen.

The report confirmed that greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise at record levels. Global temperatures were recorded at 1.1 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Scientists now predict temperatures will reach +1.5 degrees C by the early 2030s.

At the 2023 IPCC meeting, scientists and global leaders started shifting conversations toward ways humanity can adapt to a rapidly changing climate. One point brought up at the meeting was that people in underdeveloped nations, who have contributed the least amount of global emissions, are likely to be the most impacted by the increase in natural disasters caused by climate change.

Representatives from developing countries are now calling on rich nations to provide financial compensation to help them prepare for an onslaught of natural disasters. While many have agreed, the financing is still nowhere near the goal.

The IPCC report also found that the

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Photos by Lindsey Anderson

“A big part of this action is to cut up your cards and stop banking with the dirty banks. Move your money.” ongoing climate crisis has already created intergenerational inequalities. Children born in this decade will suffer more climate disasters than their parents or grandparents.

The report also linked climate change to the lowering global birth rate. Major climate disasters have led to higher rates of infertility, and the risk of greater danger has led many people between the ages of 20-40 to report actively choosing to remain child-free.

Finding hope While the IPCC report may seem bleak, contributing scientists also found a reason for hope. They believe we have not passed the point of no return yet. If global gas emissions can decline by 21% in the next decade, and continue to decline to 35% by 2035, then we can keep the global temperature from rising above 2 degrees C. To achieve this goal, the world needs to see serious emissions reductions.

Reducing emissions by such a large amount may be difficult, but the IPCC says it’s possible. Already, they are reporting that recent shifts in laws, technologies, and global policies have reduced emissions

by several billion tons. This shift toward reduction in emissions is due to the tireless work of activists and scientists who have continued to push climate change conversations to the forefront.

Knowing that they can make a difference is one of the reasons protesters took to the streets in Seattle.

“These banks didn’t have any policies on climate or fossil fuels just a few years ago.

These actions have worked,” Chatterja said.

“Our pressure is working, and banks need to step up.”

Seattle’s protesters were also inspired by global movements that have effectively persuaded large banks to defer funds from fossil fuels.

“Chase is the number one funder of fossil fuels,” protester Margo Polly said.

“In December, HBC [Hudson’s Bay Company] in Europe agreed to defund all their fossil fuel projects. Chase is now the biggest funder. They are not getting the message.”

“We should all be terrified for the planet today” Chase Bank has been the target of many climate activist protests over the last few

MARCH 24, 2023

years. While other organizations have listened to activists, Chase is still refusing to take action. “[Chase] is still funding fossil fuel expansion projects, which we know, based on all scientific reports, are incompatible with the 1.5-degree pathway,” Chatterja explained. “[Chase Chief Executive Officer] Jamie Dimon has even been on record saying that if they stopped financing fossil fuel expansion, it would be a ‘road to hell’ for America, which is saying we’re still gonna finance fossil fuel projects and torch the planet.”

Seattle’s protesters aren’t just targeting Chase. “We’re trying to get the message through to Chase Bank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank, too. They cannot do this,” Polly said. “Climate change is terrifying. If people start to look into the science and the feedback groups, we should all be terrified for the planet today. We don’t know what our future is going to look like. We are compelled to be here to try and explain the urgency of the crisis.”

Spurred on by hope and a determination to save the world, these climate activists have no plans of quitting. Third Act officially named March 21 “Stop Dirty Banks Day.” 350 Seattle is working to include youth in the national climate strike movement, calling on all students to join in a protest on March 25 at 4 p.m. and support the Building Emissions Performance Standards policy currently being proposed to the City.

Together, we can all make a difference.

All are welcome to show up, show support, and show corporations that the planet matters more than profits.

SGN

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Local News

Vandals hit Vancouver brewpub ahead of drag brunch benefit

by John McDonald SGN Contributing Writer Police in Vancouver, Washington, are investigating an incident of vandalism in the early morning hours of March 11 at a brewery that hosts drag queen brunches.

Vandals smashed three windows and two doors at the Heathen Brewing Feral Public House. Shattered glass covered the sidewalk when staff arrived to work.

The downtown pub was slated to host an all-ages benefit event on March 26 featuring performances by local drag queens.

Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Kim Kapp told The Columbian newspaper that no motive had been determined, but there is reason to believe the drag brunch may have served as such.

Since announcing the drag brunch, Heathen Brewing has been inundated with threatening phone calls and emails, Executive Chef Michael Garofalo told Portland’s NBC affiliate’s KGW News.

“Grow up. This is totally unreasonable action, whether for vandalism or whatever your cause,” Garofalo told the TV station.

Shortly after the vandalism, a GoFundMe was created to help the business with repair costs. As of Monday night, it had raised $8,677 from 233 donors.

Despite the property damage, the show must go on. Organized by the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Raintree Empire, the “Spring Fling Drag Brunch” is now a ticketed event, with proceeds going to Reign 48 charities.

Part of a trend Across the country, events featuring drag queens have become targets of right-wing extremists, who argue that such entertainment violates obscenity laws and should be restricted to adults.

In Tennessee, legislators recently passed a bill that bans shows that have male and female impersonators from public spaces. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has launched investigations and revoked liquor licenses of businesses involved in drag shows.

“We’re still baffled by it,” said Chef Rocco Carulli, whose Miami restaurant R House was the target of a DeSantis probe into drag brunches. “We just don’t understand why, and sometimes I think the people that are fighting against it don’t even know why. Maybe they have something made up in their head, but they’ve never been to it, so they have no idea.”

“We just don’t understand why, and sometimes “Drag is inherently sexual” Following the vandalism at Heathen Brew- I think the people that ing, owner Sunny Parsons posted on Faceare fighting against it book that the upcoming drag brunch will require attendees to be 18 years and older. don’t even know why.”

“This change is for the safety of the participants, employees, and attendees,” Parsons wrote.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, right-wing accounts celebrated the change of course.

Gays Against Groomers Washington applauded the decision and issued the following statement: “Gays Against Groomers does not condone violence or destructive behavior.

Mature communication is the most effective way to make a change. Thank you, Heathen Brewing, for listening and updating your drag brunch to 18+.”

Parsons said past drag brunches at the pub were monitored by staff and did not have inappropriate acts.

“Just know that I believe that we all have the right to be who we are without being judged,” Parsons wrote.

“We have no issue with drag as long as it’s for adults,” said Gays Against Groomers Washington chapter leader Alex Chrostowski in a video posted to the group’s various social

media accounts. “That being said, I’d like to reiterate our stance on drag shows: no matter if a drag show is ‘tame’ or not, whether the drag queens are behaving in a sexual manner or not, drag is inherently sexual, and it is inherently adult entertainment, so our stance is that any drag performance, no matter how tame, is not for children.”

The SGN contacted the Vancouver Police Department and office of Mayor Pro Tem Ty Stober for comment, but as of press time, our calls had not been returned.

Vancouver (the fourth largest city in Washington state, behind Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma, population just under 200,000) received a score of 74 out of 100 on the 2022 municipality equality index conducted by the Human Rights Campaign. According to the HRC index, the Vancouver Police Department reported hate crime statistics to the FBI but does not have an LGBTQ+ liaison or task force.

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Photos courtesy of Heathen Brewing

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Arts & Entertainment

Audio drama Burner Face explores life in Seattle in the 22nd century

An AI-generated Seattle Skyline – Image courtesy of John Gauntt

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Staff Writer The team that produces Burner Face, the award-winning science fiction podcast set in Seattle one hundred years from now, is gearing up for a second season. The first could already be considered an absolute treat of audio storytelling, one that weaves exposition and dialogue into a plot that invites listeners into a fun and thought-provoking vision of a potential future.

The sci-fi elements of Burner Face are introduced smoothly enough that I can leave out specifics, but there are layered premises in just the first episode. To keep it brief, in the 22nd century, Seattle’s economy, health care system, and degrading climate is regulated by Plato, an artificial intelligence (AI) housed in a powerful quantum computer.

If that weren’t enough, the setting features a new nanotechnology called “neural silver,” which has fused natural and artificial intelligence to grant non-human beings, both digital and physical, higher cognitive abilities, like self-awareness and spoken language.

The three main characters cover all those bases. There’s a human, Boon, who drives what’s essentially a sky taxi; Celeste, his digital twin sister; and Vincent, a talking cat. Together, they run an illegal mobile casino where patrons can swap out face shields (a safeguard against surveillance) and rent any face they like.

From there, says Burner Face creator John Gauntt, the podcast asks, “What could go wrong?”

Taming Pandora’s box Gauntt is also the host of Augmented City, a nonfiction series about “the intersection between artificial intelligence and urban life.” His degrees in both computer science and English literature position him somewhere between techies fixated on data and artists mired in the ephemeral.

“Human language and human culture can now directly program computers, which can be scary as shit,” Gauntt said. “But also it can be liberating.”

He spoke of AI in much the same way we might speak of climate change, or perhaps Pandora’s box — as something that isn’t likely to reverse course. The smart way for us to adapt to the rise of AI, Gauntt argued, is not to try to “enslave” it, or become slaves

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What the approach to the Space Needle could look like in 2121 – Image courtesy of John Gauntt

to it. It’s better to “domesticate” it, he said, with all the careful training that implies, so it can be a companion rather than a rival — or worse.

To change the way we think about AI, though, “we need storytellers to get ahead of this,” he said. “Because we actually do have superpowers as humans that AI doesn’t even come close to.”

He listed precise characterization as one example, and offered Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper specifically, since in that painting, each disciple is positioned in a way that reflects their roles in scripture.

Readers familiar with the history of the science fiction genre might now be thinking of the shelves upon shelves of stories that have already dealt with questions of augmented reality, nonhuman intelligence, and identity in an increasingly digital world. But Samuel Butler and Mary Shelley didn’t have Midjourney or ChatGPT to help (and they certainly didn’t have climate projections).

Though the Burner Face team has been limited to the use of 21st-century technology, they have been practicing what Gauntt preaches in their creation of season 2, at least to the degree that they can. They recently

showcased a video trailer they created with both human and AI contributors, in order to introduce more potential fans to the podcast, and pursue answers to certain questions: “How do you organize a team where one of the main contributors isn’t human?”

Gauntt posed. “Basically, how do you bring an artificial intelligence tool onto a team [and] run a project?”

Humans, then, likely worked on what Gauntt called the “spine” of the project, or the story’s characters and the linear plot as presented in audio form. But for the multimedia presence necessary for most modern publications’ widespread success — a website, a comic series, animated videos, and the like — the team invited contributions from AI. Midjourney, for example, likely generated something like concept art, which was no doubt refined by human artists on the team before publication.

“And the fact that it’s AI has about as much relevance as the fact that one of the team members might be Queer,” Gauntt said.

In other words, he perhaps wants an AI perspective on a story about AI. But the podcast’s breakdown of traditional boundaries doesn’t stop at talking cats. Gauntt said it applies to boundaries of all kinds.

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“When I talk about fluidity, it’s not just gender fluidity,” Gauntt explained.

“It’s everything fluidity. It’s where the boundaries between physical and virtual life, and work, and play have basically been obliterated.”

We have yet to be able to reliably consult a cat, but in the meantime, the Burner Face team is looking for contributors with a nuanced perspective on and experience with gender, which can certainly function as a boundary at times.

“I’m gonna be looking for people who can help me develop more genderfluid characters — not only human, but also android ones,” Gauntt said.

Whatever themes Burner Face season 2 ends up exploring, season 1’s first episode might be worth a listen for Vincent on his own. Those who tune in are sure to be left with something to chew on, and that’s the intent.

You can listen to Burner Face anywhere you listen to podcasts, and at https://www. burnerface.com, which has an interactive map of 2121 Puget Sound, a curated research database, additional art, and more.

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Arts & Entertainment

Could it be any more fun?

The Friends exhibit comes to Seattle

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer This spring, the epitome of ’90s nostalgia is in Seattle in the form of the Friends Experience at Pacific Place. For a limited time, fans of the hit television series can explore exclusive set re-creations, learn behind-the-scenes secrets, and enact iconic scenes .

Why Friends is still relevant nearly 30 years later Despite first airing nearly 30 years ago, Friends is still as relevant as ever. For older viewers who grew up alongside Rachel, Ross, Joey, Chandler, and Phoebe, the sitcom’s current appeal is nostalgia. Gen X and millennials can watch the show and reminisce about the fashions, celebrities, and events of the ’90s. For some, the show also evokes memories of life in their twenties.

Even though most Gen Z fans were born after the series wrapped its final season, Friends still ranks as one of the most popular sitcoms for that generation, maybe from watching reruns on TBS and Nick at Night with their parents or bingeing the whole series on Netflix. For them, the show provides a glorified version of the ’90s, a magical time when a waitress and young chef could (supposedly) afford a glamorously huge New York City apartment. It was a time when everyone, even a paleontologist, was incredibly attractive.

The problem with Friends For anyone who viewed the show at a young age, Friends set unachievably high expectations for what life in your twenties should look like. It also pushed harmful stereotypes about the LGBTQ+ community, gender roles, body image, and BIPOC people.

The first two seasons of the series show Ross’s divorce from Carol. Though merely a side character, Carol is a Lesbian. Her identity as such often makes her the butt of jokes and is used to show just how emasculated Ross is after learning that he had spent years in a relationship with a Queer woman. The show only uses Carol’s sexuality to write her out of Ross’s life and refuses to examine the possibility that her character could have been Bisexual and genuinely attracted to Ross while they were together.

The show falls into a pattern of Bi erasure, not only with Carol but also in many portrayals of Phoebe. Despite the character sometimes expressing attraction to women (in a way that is dismissed or joked about), she also declares in one episode, “Sometimes men love women, sometimes men love men, and then there are Bisexuals, though some say they’re just kidding themselves…”

Friends also banks on using Queerness to emasculate their characters. Men who share close relationships, like Chandler and Joey, are often mocked for “acting Gay.” In one episode, Phoebe attempts to turn a Gay male friend straight, and in several others, Chandler’s parent, who is a Trans woman, is constantly dead-named and misgendered.

Aside from the show’s treatment of LGBTQ characters, its heterosexual relationships often normalize toxic behavior.

The men routinely objectify the women, disrespect them, and cheat on them. Their behavior is charming, humorous, or just “boys being boys.” The women who draw attention to this behavior are portrayed as “crazy radical feminists” overcome by their emotions.

While there are numerous critiques of the series, from its portrayals of Trans women to the lack of nearly any BIPOC characters, it remains enduring for its ’90s nostalgia.

And when viewed with a critical lens, there are still ways to enjoy the show for what it was at the time, while also acknowledging how it reflected the often oppressive societal norms of 30 years ago.

It’s still fun to play pretend While Queer realists may understand that they’ll never be able to sit in a coffee shop all day, afford Monica’s apartment, or successfully maintain a friend group of more than five people, the Friends Experience allows fans to play make-believe for a day. If people can cast aside feminist critiques of the medieval period to enjoy a renn faire, then they can surely forget some of the poorly aged themes of the classic sitcom for a day.

The exhibit immediately transports fans to New York City in the 1990s. Even though people will feel like they’ve time-traveled, workers at the Friends Experience know we’re living in postpandemic 2023. To keep everyone safe and healthy, they keep everything not just clean but “Monica clean.”

Each room has multiple hand-sanitizing and disinfecting stations, which guests are encouraged to use after handling anything.

The experience begins with fans being

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Photos by Lindsey Anderson

escorted through the iconic purple door.

On the other side, the orange couch from the title sequence sits in front of a replica of the famous New York fountain. Groups are encouraged to begin their tour by posing for a professional photographer.

The tour continues with behind-thescenes looks at the creation process of the show. Groups can look at early sketches by the show’s costume designer Debra McGuire. Even before casting actors, she had planned out what hair and clothes their characters would wear. In an interview, she explains her thought process for each character and how she used fashion to convey their unique personalities.

Not only do fans get to see the creation process, but they are also shown real-life pieces of the wardrobe. Mannequins decked out in some of the series’ most iconic looks give perspective on just how small some of the actors were. Fans can also pose as Joey in all of Chandler’s clothes.

The experience doesn’t stop with the wardrobe. Fans can walk around both the boys’ and girls’ apartments, sit in the BarcaLoungers, and even look out from Monica’s balcony. The experience provides plenty of professional photo opportunities as well, in which people can pretend to pivot Ross’s couch up the stairs, drop cheesecake in the hallway, and enjoy a (pretend) cup of coffee at Central Perk.

Fans who grew up with Friends can finally feel included in the narrative, even if they aren’t rich, white, cis, or straight, like the original group. The Friends Experience is a perfect way to rewrite the show that shaped how we view young adulthood today.

The Friends Experience is running until April 30. Tickets can be bought at https:// seattle.friendstheexperience.com.

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Film

Epic John Wick: Chapter 4 an exhaustingly exhilarating action spectacular

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 Theaters John Wick: Chapter 4 does not know when to quit, and I’ll take bets that few are going to care. This is an action spectacular that delivers one eye-popping sequence of extended mayhem after another. The story hits the sandy desert at a determined gallop and then stubbornly refuses to slow down, and for almost three hours straight, director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves go for broke on a level not seen outside of bullet-riddled Hong Kong cinema of the 1980s or 21st-century, gore-drenched Korean genre fair.

John Wick (Reeves) has been recuperating in New York’s underground courtesy of the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) ever since the Continental’s manager, Winston (Ian McShane), shot him off the hotel’s roof. Now he’s healthy and ready to make his reappearance. But during Wick’s time away, the High Table has not been sitting on its laurels. It’s given unprecedented power to the Marquis (Bill Skarsgård), and he is determined to lay waste to everything and anyone who aided the assassin after he went on his relentless rampage after the death of his beloved puppy, given to him by his late wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan).

There’s no reason to go into the plot in any greater detail. As convoluted as the screenplay by Shay Hatten (Day Shift) and Michael Finch (Predators) can get, the basics remain fairly simple: A bevy of bad guys attempt to kill John Wick. John Wick fights back. A smorgasbord of dead bodies, the majority of them shot in the head, are all that’s left behind as John relentlessly moves forward like the Terminator toward his next confrontation. That’s it. There’s little more to add.

The wrinkles this time around come in the form of the adversaries put in the boogeyman’s way. As chilling as Skarsgård may be as the primary villain — and his is an unsettling presence for the entirety of the film — he’s nothing compared to the people he utilizes to bring John down. Chilean action superstar Marko Zaror portrays his righthand man Chidi. Indie dynamo Scott Adkins is the massive German enforcer appropriately known only as Killa.

Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4 – Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

The great Donnie Yen is the unstoppable blind hitman Caine, a tortured soul who thought his time serving the High Table had come to an end, until the Marquis shows up to emotionlessly tell him otherwise.

John has friends of his own. The Bowery King, of course; with the Marquis on the warpath, Winston has no other choice but to return to John’s good graces and give him the tools required to defy the High Table on their terms, not his. But his chief benefactor comes in the form of the Tokyo Continental’s manager Shimazu, portrayed

by Japanese icon Hiroyuki Sanada, and his expert swordsmanship will be needed when the High Table sends its best to see if he’s been giving John sanctuary.

Also on hand are Shamier Anderson as a nameless tracker who has been doggedly on John’s tail ever since he emerged from the Bowery King’s lair, and pop megastar Rina Sawayama as Shimazu’s loving daughter

Akira, who worries that her father’s friendship with the excommunicated executioner will be the death of him. Practically everyone will encounter one another (with a few notable exceptions) in a fight over the course of this energetic epic’s running time, thus allowing Reeves to face off with a cadre of martial arts titans as John works his way through the High Table’s minions in his dogged pursuit of freedom.

What’s impressive is that, for a series that came perilously close to jumping the shark in its third installment, John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, in this fourth chapter, even with the film’s ungodly length, Stahelski and Reeves manage to craft a far more streamlined, much less cartoonish jolt of absurdity that grounds all its stunning action in emotionally authentic character dynamics. John’s quest for freedom becomes genuine once again, and not since 2014’s first John Wick have I cared so much

Donnie Yen in John Wick: Chapter 4 – Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

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about what was going to happen to the guy.

But he’s not the only one. Yen’s Caine is also memorably fleshed out, and the actor — even if he’s borrowing a bit from his slightly similar Rogue One: A Star Wars Story role — brings him to life with superlative grace and heartrending subtlety. He and John are two sides of the same coin, and the fact that the High Table has decided to pit them against one another is a betrayal each man will not be able to forgive. Yen is mesmerizing: when he was around, I could not take my eyes off of him, and when he wasn’t, I sat on pins and needles waiting for his return.

I can’t tell you which action set piece I liked the best, as all of them are stunning. Even better, each is different. Stahelski and his crack stunt team make sure things never grow stale, moving John from one type of exhilarating skirmish to the next with kinetic urgency.

There’s a pugnacious face-off between Reeves and Adkins that’s bone-crushingly magnificent, while a marathon ascent up the 300 steps to Sacré-Cœur in Paris is exhaustingly superb.

It’s strange to think that what started as a high-grade, relatively inexpensive action throwback about a hitman getting revenge for the killing of his dog and the theft of his car has blossomed into a big-budget, fourfilm franchise that’s spawning a femaledriven spinoff (Ballerina starring Academy Award nominee Ana de Armas) and reportedly an anthology television series set inside New York’s Continental. It should also be noted that the sprawling mythology concerning the High Table and its neverending armies of crack assassins has gotten increasingly nonsensical as one John Wick escapade quite literally bleeds into the next.

Not that I’m complaining. Few series of this type have maintained this level of quality and ingenuity over four installments without growing stale. As absurd as the scenarios surrounding the High Table may be, John Wick as a protagonist remains as fascinating as ever. With the addition of Zaror, Adkins, Sanada, and especially Yen to the fold, this sequel features some of the best hand-to-hand cinematic combat I’ve ever seen. Much like its title character, John Wick: Chapter 4 hits everything it targets with lethal precision, and this killer entry overflows in life.

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Film

Shazam! sequel’s low stakes, self-contained plotting, and familial warmth are a pleasing combination

Zachary Levi and Helen Mirren in Shazam! Fury of the Gods – Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS Theaters Everyone who got a kick out of the low stakes, self-contained storytelling and goofily juvenile antics on display in 2019’s Shazam! will likely be equally satisfied with its sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Even with a slightly bigger budget and better villains, director David F. Sandberg’s follow-up is proudly more of the same, and that’s just fine.

Teenager Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is still dealing with all the crazy events that magically transformed him into a superhero (Zachary Levi) and led to his doling out a variety of similar abilities to his foster siblings Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), Mary (Grace Caroline Currey), Pedro (Jovan Armand), Darla (Faithe Herman), and Eugene (Ian Chen). But he never could have imagined the catastrophic repercussions he unleashed when, two years prior, during their fight with Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), he snapped the staff of the ancient Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) that granted him and his family their abilities.

A trio of goddesses — Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu), and Anthea (Rachel Zegler) — have been freed from their prison, and all they need is the staff to put a plan in motion that could either restore their mythical realm to its enchanted splendor or instead send the human world into a pit of chaos and misery. Billy and his family are thrust into the fight of their lives, each wondering if they’re too young and too inexperienced to have the fate of humanity sitting on their shoulders.

Once again, Sanberg tries to blend a playful, Amblin-esque tone with some decidedly nastier ideas. An opening sequence at a museum, where Hespera and Kalypso retrieve the Wizard’s broken staff, is aggressively violent. It culminates in a petrifying crescendo that would make Medusa cringe, and parents with youngsters in tow

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should keep this in mind before buying tickets. There’s an even worse, if brief, bit later on in which the director seemingly pays homage to the terrifying opening from M. Night Shyamalan’s otherwise laughable The Happening, and it’s suitably bonechilling in its destructive splatter.

The rest of the film is a blend of every teen-friendly ’80s adventure you can think of, which is a positive and a negative, frequently at the same time. This can make things feel unbalanced, like the genuinely understated sweetness of Freddie inadvertently flirting with an incognito (and unexpectedly smitten) Anthea immediately juxtaposed with the sophomoric egotism of the former’s superhero alter ego (Adam Brody) acting like an inauthentically scripted version of a high school dork.

Yet the emotions revolving around chosen family, acceptance, diversity, under-

standing, and empathy remain pure. The foster household that selfless parents Rosa (Marta Milans) and Victor Vasquez (Cooper Andrews) have created for their children remains exquisite. I liked how returnee Henry Gayden (There’s Something Inside Your House) and series newcomer Chris Morgan (a veteran of the Fast and Furious franchise — and it shows) have determinedly structured their screenplay to revolve around the core group, putting front and center the dynamics that make each who they are, and the difficulties they are having communicating with one another now that they’re all superheroes.

Levi dives even more into his Chuck-era bag of tricks than he did in the prior installment, and this can get obnoxious. Thankfully he tones down his schtick considerably in the final act, when he grounds his performance in something honest and pure.

This helps make Billy’s decisions during the climax mean something, and even though I saw this ending coming from a mile away, my heartstrings were still tugged to the point that I didn’t really care how obvious this turn of events was.

There are hints and allusions that this series may continue, and if the sequel proves to be a hit, even with all the upheaval in the DC cinematic universe, Shazam!

Fury of the Gods is so self-contained that fitting this hero back into the larger overarching narrative won’t be especially difficult. But if this is the final incarnation of the Shazam family’s adventures, they’ve gone out with electrifying flair and shockingly pleasant enthusiasm. Bigger isn’t always better, and sometimes “more of the same” is exactly what’s needed to keep an audience happily entertained.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods – Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

MARCH 24, 2023

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

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Film

Art is madness and madness is art as Dafoe gets locked Inside

Willem Dafoe in Inside – Photo courtesy of Focus Features

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer INSIDE Theaters Crack art thief Nemo (Willem Dafoe) has had jobs go south before, but never like this.

While scouring the lavish Manhattan penthouse of an eccentric collector, the hightech security system goes haywire. With the owner out of the country, Nemo’s compatriots in the crime cutting off communication, and all the doors and windows locked tight, Nemo is trapped. Worse, the water in the kitchen and bathroom has been turned off, there’s precious little food, and the heating system has gone into overdrive, transforming the entire place into an oversized oven.

Inside is a single-location thriller about an ingenious man trying to utilize minimal available materials to escape an impossible situation. As simple as that may sound, director Vasilis Katsoupis (who also conceived the original story) and screenwriter Ben Hopkins have zero intention of making things that straightforward. Nemo is mentally disintegrating, and escape can only be achieved through a combination of imagination, chaos, inspiration, and perseverance — and even then that may not be enough.

Making heads or tails out of this is no easy task. Katsoupis fills the penthouse with an armored truck’s worth of authentic, extremely valuable pieces of art of all kinds, from paintings and statues to figurines and tapestries. The place itself is a modern architectural marvel, but it’s also cold, heartless, and unforgiving. Its secrets only lead to new metaphorical terrors, while its two glass, stone, and steel levels conceal nothing yet reveal even less.

Once his partners turn off their radios, Nemo’s only link to the outside world is the security system feed broadcast over the giant television. He becomes fascinated with one of the maids (Eliza Stuyck), his eyes following her wherever she goes; he

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also has long conversations with the woman that she will never hear. When she comes to vacuum the hallway outside the unit, he furiously makes as much noise as possible, but the front door and reinforced walls are too thick for the maid to hear the ruckus.

Another avenue for potential release comes in the form of an overhead skylight that hovers a good 30 to 40 feet above the central living room. Nemo uses his architectural and artistic background (which he speaks about in a hushed voiceover and may not be true) to construct a massive pyr-

amid of tables, chairs, desks, bed frames, and other items to scale, his Sisyphean pursuit almost certain to lead to failure, if not serious injury.

But nothing is certain in Katsoupis’ thriller.

Dafoe’s physical and psychological transformation mirrors the crumbling state of the penthouse. This bastion of luxury becomes a cell overflowing with filth. Yet it also remains a place of creativity. Carnage and chaos lead to the blossoming of profound revelation.

Escape may be impossible, but art can come from anywhere, as one person’s trash can be

another’s crowning achievement.

It’s a lot to deal with, and Katsoupis and Hopkins refuse to answer any of the questions they put up for discussion. The last images are purposefully vague, and the ephemeral nature of what Nemo is attempting is a cryptic conundrum that only grows in scope and size as hours become days, days become months, and time loses all meaning whatsoever. Inside is a perplexing descent into the unknown, and whether or not this madness is art (or the art is madness) is purely in the eye of the beholder.

Willem Dafoe in Inside – Photo courtesy of Focus Features

MARCH 24, 2023

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Books

Grace Perry analyzes Queer Y2K culture in debut book

Grace Perry – Photo by Kort Havens

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer Queer coming-of-age meets modern nostalgia in Grace Perry’s debut book, The 2000s Made Me Gay. Through a series of essays, she examines some of the most iconic moments of the decade and how they imprinted on her young, Queer brain. It was a perfect project for Perry, who has previously written for The New Yorker, Buzzfeed, and The Onion.

“I like to write about Gay stuff, pop culture, and how the internet shapes how we see the world and each other. Those are the things I spend most of the time thinking about,” Perry shared with the SGN. “The book I wrote is a kind of memoir blending with cultural criticism,” she explained. It combines her personal stories with well-known cultural moments she felt impacted her childhood. The result is a stunning amalgamation of both personal and cultural observations.

Coming out and coming-of-age Despite having over ten years of professional writing experience, The 2000s Made Me Gay is Perry’s first published book.

While some struggle for years to find their voice, she found that the stories just seemed to flow out of her Sharing them was not only natural but cathartic.

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“People say this a lot about first books: that you’ve been writing it your whole life.

It all just comes out of you,” she said.

The stories she included in the book were ones she had written and rewritten mentally. The topic that spent the most time living in her head rent-free was how 2000s pop-culture moments impacted her ideas around sexuality. The more she analyzed the decade, the more she realized it was pivotal in her coming-out experience.

“It was pretty clear that I wanted to write about how 2000s pop culture impacted my sexuality. That was already something I had been batting around in my head for a while,” she said.

Upon further reflection, Perry realized that the 2000s were so influential to her because it was the decade in which she was a teenager. “As teenagers, we are sponges.

It shapes how we look and feel and see the world,” she said.

She believes the messages we receive as adolescents have some of the biggest impacts on who we become later in life.

“We take in art and media as kids viscerally and ground them in our bodies and experiences. That’s just how I ended up grounded in the middle of it,” she explained.

A story that began as an objective cultural criticism of 2000s Queer culture soon became very personal. Perry realized she

“It feels very ‘internet’ to say ‘Seth Cohen is a Lesbian.’

I gained some gender identity in this middle ground of wanting to behave more like a boy than a girl.” could not separate her own story from that of the decade. “It wasn’t that I wanted to tell my coming out story, but it was more that my coming out story needed to be told, so I could explore these pieces of entertainment in the way that I wanted to explore them.”

Grace Perry on Katy Perry Two experiences Perry felt were essential to The 2000s Made Me Gay were her “crush” on The OC’s Seth Cohen and her first reactions to “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry. Looking back on her infatuation with Cohen, Perry realized she experienced a common Queer coming-of-age phenomenon. “I [had] the thing that so many Queer people experience: Do I want to be them, or do I want to fuck them?”

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Cohen’s masculinity and style were attractive to Perry in ways she couldn’t quite explain. At the time, it seemed simple enough to write her feelings off as a crush, but with an adult perspective, she realized that she often wanted to emulate him to express herself through gender.

“It feels very ‘internet’ to say ‘Seth Cohen is a Lesbian.’ I gained some gender identity in this middle ground of wanting to behave more like a boy than a girl,” she recalled.

Ten years after Katy Perry hit the music scene with “I Kissed a Girl,” Grace Perry decided to reflect on how the song impacted her budding sexuality. The essay on Katy Perry was the first she wrote for the book.

see PERRY page 14

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Books

Blue Hunger a surreal read to bite into

by Terri Schlichenmeyer Special to the SGN BLUE HUNGER VIOLA DI GRADO, translated by JAMIE RICHARDS © 2023 Bloomsbury $27.00 216 pages

Image courtesy of Bloomsbury

Shanghai was not her first choice for where to live. Sometimes, she wasn’t really even sure why she came there, except that it was Ruben’s dream.

For months and months, her twin brother spoke of Shanghai, showed her maps, talked of a life as a chef living in a high-rise apartment, and taught her a little bit of the language.

She never fully understood why Ruben loved China, and she never thought to ask before her only sibling —her other half — died.

She was brushing her teeth when it happened. Now, weeks later, she was in his favorite city, a teacher of Italian languages in a Chinese culture, alone, friendless.

Then she met Xu. It happened at the nightclub called Poxx, and she later wondered, with a thrill, if Xu had been stalking her. Xu claimed that she was a student in the Italian class, but though she was usually good with faces, she didn’t remember the slender, “glorious” woman with milk-white skin and luminous eyes.

She did remember the first place she and Xu had sex.

It was a hotel, but Xu liked it outside, too: in public, on sidewalks, in abandoned buildings, and in crowded nightclubs. They took yellow pills together, and slept together in Xu’s squalid apartment. She told Xu she loved her but never got a reply, except that Xu starting biting.

Xu had used her teeth all along, but she started biting harder.

Soon, she was bleeding, bruised from Xu’s bites, and seeing people in the shadows, and she began to understand that Ruben wouldn’t have liked Xu at all...

There are a few other things about this book you’ll need to know.

hopes people will realize that the decade was far from perfect. “I won’t say it was high culture. Post 9/11, everyone was dressing like shit, looking like shit, and afraid to say anything too controversial. We saw what happened to The Chicks. I don’t know, it was just such a weird time for Americans,” she said.

Despite the many criticisms sociologists and political scientists might have about those ten years, critiquing the many poorly aged moments of the time was not her intention.

“I’m not interested in going back and looking at things through the progressive and social justice–oriented lens we now have in 2023, looking back at something from 20 years ago and going, ‘Wow this is super homophobic, this is super racist.’

That is important, but I try not to do that in the book. [But] sometimes it’s impossible not to.”

While she thinks readers can clock the racism, homophobia, and sexism of the day on their own, Perry does hope they can come away from the book reflecting on more subtly harmful topics.

“Maybe the best thing can come from looking back at the insane rush of early reality TV. People can say, ‘Wow, that was poorly done. How can we do this better?’

I hope there’s not an overromanticizing of it, because there was a lot of shit that was fucked up. Make better stuff.”

PERRY

continued from page 13 “This song fucking terrorized me. It was this super famous song playing everywhere. You couldn’t escape it. The other part was that my grandmother’s name was Katy Perry. This was the first time I had heard of Katy Perry, so it just felt like the whole world was playing a big joke on me,” she said with a laugh.

After completing her first essay, Perry felt more confident in her ability to write a book. From there, she dove deeper into the music, TV shows, and fashion that shaped the generation that would eventually come to be known as the “Queerest” yet.

Connecting with Gen Z Perry is a millennial. She thought other members of her generation would connect with her musings about the 2000s. However, she was surprised that her book didn’t connect with millennials as much as she thought. Instead, older Gen Z kids are the ones reaching out to her with praise.

“It’s funny. I thought, when writing the book, [that it] would be something that would appeal to millennials. It’s 2000s nostalgia stuff. So I thought people my age would get a kick out of it, but the people I end up hearing the most about it tend to be younger. It’s people who are college age or just out of college,” she said.

Perry believes younger people relate to her stories so much because they have come out more recently.

“People who are either coming out or closer to the experience of coming out [really enjoy this book]. Anyone who has been out for a long time like me isn’t eating up the book in the same way as people who are closer to that emotional experience for themselves,” she said.

Even though The 2000s Made Me Gay didn’t resonate with millennial readers as much as she thought, Perry is happy to help guide the younger generation with her anecdotes and help them see that they’re not alone in their Queer experiences.

“That’s the best thing the book could offer.

Less about cultural insights and more about making people feel less alone,” she said. “Just knowing the experience of having a warped closeted brain and how you can logic yourself into staying in the closet is a universal experience for a lot of Queer people.”

Aside from connecting with young people, Perry’s novel has become a hit simply because of all the hype surrounding the 2000s today.

From Y2K fashion trends to reboots of some of the most popular TV shows of the time, the 2000s are certainly having their moment.

“We’re always going to be obsessed with what happened 20 years ago, because the people who were children then are now in their twen-

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Reading Blue Hunger is like watching a Stanley Kubrick movie. It’s surreal, kind of gauzy, and loaded with meanings that are somewhat fuzzy until you’ve read a paragraph several times — and even then, you’re not quite sure about it.

Author Viola Di Grado writes of sharp, unfinished mourning with a grief-distracting obsession layered thickly on top, and of control and submission. And while the chapters are brief, they feel too long — but also not long enough. There are so many questions left dangling within the plot of this story, so many small bits unsaid — but also too much information of the mundane sort. You’ll feel somewhat voyeuristic, until you notice that the sex scenes are humidly uber-fiery but not very detailed.

Overall, then, Blue Hunger is different but compelling, short enough to read twice, quickly. It’s lush and dreamlike. Once you’ve started, you won’t be able to stop thinking about it.

Image courtesy of St. Martin's Griffin

“Whoever is in their twenties at the time is going to be looking back nostalgically. The 2010s are going to have their moment [next].” ties. Now they’re looking back with nostalgia and adult eyes for the first time at things that were ridiculous,” Perry observed.

Lessons learned in hindsight Obsession with what happened 20 years ago is nothing new. “I remember growing up, people were obsessed with the ’80s,

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Perry said. “People talked about the ’80s all the time in the 2000s. There was always ’80s-themed shit. I think it has more to do with [the fact that] whoever is in their twenties at the time is going to be looking back nostalgically. The 2010s are going to have their moment [next].”

While the 2000s are big now, Perry

Making “better stuff” Perry is now trying to make better stuff.

When she’s not writing analytical essays, she’s looking into ways to break into a new medium. “I’m trying to do TV and film stuff. I live in LA, so everyone is,” she said.

She also has ideas for more books.

“I might write another book. If I do another, I’m interested in writing about grief more.

My brother died three years ago. I’m interested in writing about that, but it’s going to take me time,” she explained.

No matter what she does next, she’s sure it will still be Queer. Eventually, she plans on examining a popular topic in Lesbian media. “I’m interested in the trope of the lecherous Lesbian. Not only how that has played out in pop culture but how that’s also played out in my life and how that intersects with our understandings of masculinity and topping and bottoming and control and all that stuff wrapped up in gender,” she said.

No matter what Perry does next, one thing is certain: she is now one of the many names shaping culture for the next generation of Queer people.

Perry’s debut book, The 2000s Made Me Gay, is available now. Grab a copy and read along with us at the SGN book club.

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Travel

Pride journey: Coastal Mississippi

by Joey Amato Special to the SGN Every now and then, I visit a destination I know absolutely nothing about. That happened a few years ago when I visited Oklahoma City and I fell in love with it. This time around, that destination was Coastal Mississippi, more specifically Biloxi, Gulfport, and Ocean Springs.

In fact, the only thing I knew about Biloxi was the hotel I stayed at, Beau Rivage. I knew it was owned by MGM Resorts, but that was about it. The rest of the journey was going to be a surprise.

For this particular trip, I wanted to focus on health and wellness, and luckily, Beau Rivage’s most recent renovation included two floors full of Stay Well rooms, as well as an updated spa. Also, my Gulfview room came complete with an aromatherapy machine, ultra high-end linens, and memory foam mattress and pillows, as well as a vitamin C dispenser hooked up to my shower. I had never seen one of those before, so I had to ask what it was!

Art After an early check-in, I departed for Ocean Springs, a quaint town just east of the hotel. My first stop was a place called Shearwater Pottery. Apparently, it is very well known to everyone but me — after posting pictures on social media, I received numerous comments from friends wanting to visit. Shearwater was founded in 1928

by Peter Anderson, and from the 1920s through the present day, it has produced art pottery, utilitarian ware, figurines, decorative tiles, and other pieces.

I had the opportunity to meet with Margie Ashley, Anderson’s daughter, who told me about her family’s legacy in Ocean Springs. At that time, Coastal Mississippi was known for fishing and not so much for the arts, so her family was viewed as outcasts. Margie told me people used to called them “the crazy Andersons.” But they eventually had the last laugh, as the family name has become as much of Coastal Mississippi culture as seafood gumbo.

A few minutes up the road from there is the Walter Anderson Museum of Art. Walter was the brother of Peter Anderson and equally as talented, creating thousands of works throughout his lifetime. Many of Walter’s paintings, drawings, murals, block prints, sculpture, carvings, and writings are on display at the museum.

The pièce de résistance is the Community Center, the site of Walter Anderson’s worthy of a James Beard nomination and monumental, 3,000-square-foot murals, definitely the award for Best Chef: South! which depict the historic discovery of the You’ll need the rest of the night to Mississippi Coast and its diverse climates. recover from a food coma, so head back to The city commissioned Anderson in 1950 Beau Rivage for some much-needed rest, or for a fee of $1.00, and the project took 16 hit the casino if your heart desires. months to complete.

Wildlife Food Head out the next morning to the For dinner, head to Vestige, a farm-to- recently opened Mississippi Aquarium in table restaurant in Ocean Springs helmed Gulfport, about 15 minutes west of Biloxi. by head chefs Alex Perry and his wife, The state-of-the-art facility is home to a Kumi Omori, who were recently nomi- variety of sea life and is one of the crown nated for a James Beard Award. Vestige jewels of the area. offers a prix fixe menu that changes on a I can never see enough animals, so next regular basis and contains only the freshest on the agenda was the Institute of Marine local ingredients. And if it’s not local, they Mammal Studies, located at Ocean Advenfly it in from its land of origin to ensure its tures Marine Park. Guests can get up close freshness. and personal with stingrays, sea lions, and We began our meal with sashimi of dolphins. I had the opportunity to interact hamachi, complete with a foie gras emul- with a beautiful male dolphin: rubbing his sion, rose, purple sweet potato, and magno- belly, giving him commands, and feeding lia flower kombucha veil. Yes, that was one him some delicious fish. For my — I mean dish and just an appetizer, but probably my his — hard work, I got a kiss from one of favorite item on the menu. my favorite animals.

After three more courses — from a piece of perfectly cooked fish to charcoal More food! grilled Wagyu beef — the meal came to an On the way back to your hotel, stop end with a delectable strawberry Bavarian, by Coastal Roast Coffee for an afternoon with cacao-mint genoise, grapefruit lemon pick-me-up before dinner at White Pilcurd, and pecan-ginger shortbread. This lars. I wasn’t sure what to expect there. wasn’t just a meal; it was an experience The bar was set really high at Vestige the

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Photos courtesy of Joey Amato

I know I said I wanted to focus on health night before, but I was in for another treat.

We began our meal with a bowl of oyster and wellness during this trip, but I seemed and artichoke soup. I was a bit hesitant to to have detoured from my mission someorder this at first, as I didn’t want to start where in Ocean Springs. One can’t resist with something heavy, but it turned out to the food in Coastal Mississippi, so screw be one of the best soups I’ve had in a long the diet for one more day and head to the time. It was light and fragrant, consisting of Roasted Bean in the lobby of Beau Rivage Gulf oysters, fennel, and oyster mushrooms and ask for an order of beignets. These are in a coconut milk broth. Since we were not listed anywhere in plain sight and are dining near the coast, we thought to try the best-kept secret of the hotel (I received the Gulf Seafood Tower, two tiers of fresh a tip from the captain of the Biloxi shrimpoysters, mahi crudo, smoked fish dip, and ing trip I went on the morning prior). The powdered sugar pastries where the best amberjack ceviche.

And those were just the starters! For my I’ve ever had: light, airy, and simply delimain course, I ordered the duck ramen pre- cious. They couldn’t have had that many pared with a duck leg confit, collards, toga- calories, right?

End your stay in Coastal Mississippi rashi, duck crackling, and a traditional softboiled egg. In fact, the egg was the only with a relaxing CBD massage at the the thing traditional about the dish, which was Spa at Beau Rivage. The 80-minute session rich and delicious. The duck was cooked to uses CBD body oils, as well as a Moor Mud treatment, to soothe tired muscles and back perfection, and the broth was fantastic. pain. Playing with dolphins, eating oysters, and savoring beignets all weekend was Queer community The area is home to two LGBTQ bars, quite stressful!

If you are looking for a relaxed seaside Sipp’s in Gulfport and Just Us Lounge, located within walking distance of Beau vacation, put Coastal Mississippi on your Rivage. The crowd at Just Us was a melt- radar. There are many unique experiences ing pot of the area’s Queer commu- that will make your stay truly memorable. nity, extremely diverse and welcoming.

Visit https://coastalmississippi.com for One thing to note is that smoking is still legal inside bars there, so if that bothers you, more information about the destination. there is a large outdoor space you can use.

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Op-Ed

How to emulate the energy of fashion daddy Pedro Pascal

by Isabel Mata SGN Staff Writer Ask Izzy is a biweekly advice column about relationships, mental health, and sexuality. Written

by Isabel Mata — a Seattle-based lifestyle writer, podcast host, and mental health advocate — Ask Izzy offers tangible expert advice so all readers can have stronger relationships, better sex, and healthier mindsets. Looking for some more guidance? Submit your question to info@sgn.org with the subject line: Ask Izzy Submission.

Dear Izzy, Hi, I just finished watching The Last of Us, and I’m now obsessed with Pedro Pascal. I’m wondering if you have any tips on how to emulate his style through personal fashion and energy? Also, I dress very gender-neutral/masc but am AFAB and cannot physically grow a mustache.

Thanks!

— Wannabe Fashion Daddy Dear Wannabe, Let me just say you have great taste.

If anyone is truly having a moment right now, it would be Pedro Pascal, the internet’s favorite zombie-killing daddy. And I am here for it. There are a few things that make Pedro an icon, and it’s not just his rugged good looks and talent for making me cry. Even covered in metal from head to toe as the Mandalorian, he has it, a unique je ne sais quoi that can’t be replicated. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try.

Grandpa chic Because of the range that Pedro has, you must be a little more specific about what style of his you want to emulate. Is it the rugged, macho wardrobe of his character from The Last of Us? Or the kooky hot grandpa vibes he has been giving on the red carpet in recent months?

If it’s the first, you will want to focus on “rugged workwear and grungy denim,” per GQ. Pedro’s character in the postapocalyptic show isn’t going for style, although he does manage to slay every chance he gets.

No, it’s more about function and staying alive while the mushroom zombies are after you. To get the look, you’ll want to layer up a nice tee with an oversized flannel and top with a tailored jacket and boots.

Off-screen, Pedro’s look is much funkier, a flamboyant display of just how “daddy” he is. If you look at Pedro’s outfits from his recent press tour for The Mandalorian, you’ll be surprised at how fun and colorful everything is. In an email with GQ, his stylist, Julia Ragolia, said that her goal isn’t to help Pedro go viral — he can do that all on his own.

“I simply wanted to present Pedro’s best self. This is what felt right,” she said when asked about a few recent outfits Pedro wore that are grandpa chic at its finest.

To emulate this version of Pedro, you’ll want some beautifully tailored slacks paired with a simple sweater in a color of your choice. Once you have those pieces, it’s all about the accessories. Maybe it’s a bold pair of glasses or a funky hat. Whatever it is, wear it proudly. It’s what Pedro would do.

Daddy energy Pedro could be wearing a garbage bag and I would still call him a fashion icon, because of the energy he always emits. It’s a confidence that radiates through his dashing smile and humble laugh.

To truly emulate Pedro, you need to have this confidence. Or at least fake it till you make it. To do this, one exercise I recommend is standing naked in front of a mirror for five minutes every single day, looking at yourself. Seriously, do it. You

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Photo by Allison Dinner / Reuters

may laugh, but it’s called “mirror work,” and it’s a type of therapy to foster self-love — and it really works. The kind of confidence that Pedro carries comes from feeling at home in your body, and to get that, you must become comfortable with how you look at your most vulnerable.

After doing this for a week or two, you will notice yourself standing a bit taller, exuding confidence that Pedro Pascal knows all too well. Before you know it, you will have people calling you daddy wherever you go.

References: https://www.gq.com/story/pedro-pascalmandalorian-daddy-style https://fashionista.com/2023/02/pedropascal-acne-studios-mandalorian-season3-photo-call https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/mirror-work

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

National News National news highlights

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Staff Writer Kentucky GOP rushes gender-affirming care ban On Thursday last week, shouts filled the Senate chamber in Frankfort as Kentucky lawmakers passed by overwhelming majority a measure that would ban gender-affirming care for minors. The bill had seemingly stalled the day before, but a GOP supermajority propelled it to passage.

From there, the bill went to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, whose likely veto is unlikely to hold up. Still, he had this to say about the measure: “The other thing I believe is every child is a child of God, every single one, and that we know from all the statistics that this type of bill will lead to an increase in teen suicides in Kentucky. I can tell you, I will never be able to support a bill that’s going to lead to increased suicides.”

Beshear also said that the legislation infringes on parents’ and guardians’ rights to make “very personal” medical decisions with the guidance of their doctors, amounting to “big government stepping in and imposing its will” on families.

Jerry Miller, a Republican who once served in the House, essentially told lawmakers that there were bigger fish to fry.

“This bill condemns vulnerable children to an even more difficult life than they’ve already been born into. Please don’t let a parent’s right to protect their children be collateral damage in the culture wars.”

Image courtesy of MSNBC

Jinkx Monsoon decries drag show bans RuPaul’s Drag Race star Jinkx Monsoon has continued to denounce Republicans’ attempts to restrict drag performances, as she did on Friday last week on MSNBC. She evoked notions of American values of equality, and the idea that social progress has marched on in spite of everything.

“What I want to say to the people trying to oppress my community right now is look at what’s happened every time you’ve tried to oppress a community in America,” Monsoon told Stephanie Ruhle. “You tried

to oppress women; women got the vote.

You tried to oppress people of color; we’re not accepting that anymore.

“We’re not accepting that some citizens just have to sit on the outside and be the outliers of our society, because that’s not what this country was supposedly founded on.”

Monsoon also railed against the pervasive dogma of natural law: “We have been conditioned to believe that there is a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to do things and that there’s a ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’ way to do things. Imagine how infuriat-

ing that would be if you spent your whole life following the rules and then you were told those rules don’t actually exist.”

As for advice to Queer people in light of the rise of anti-LGBTQ legislation, Monsoon said, “We need you with us to keep fighting for our freedoms and liberties and equalities, and if you have to move to a more metropolitan area until the rest of the country catches up, you know, do what it takes to keep yourself safe and find your community so that you can live your live truthfully and unapologetically.”

Proud Boys get beat up at NYC Drag Queen Story Hour

Photo by Olga Fedorova / SOPA Images/ Sipa USA via AP

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The white nationalist Proud Boys got the worst of it in a brawl they provoked at a drag queen story hour in Greenwich Village, New York City.

The March 19 event was hosted by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, to show her solidarity with New York’s drag and gender-nonconforming communities.

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The event was organized by the Drag Kings, Queens, and Royalty of Drag Story Hour NYC, described by the New York Daily News as “a resource hub for New York City’s queer community.”

Some 200 attendees — including families with children — gathered at the city’s LGBTQ Community Center in Greenwich Village. They were confronted by a much smaller group brandishing Trump signs, many in distinctive Proud Boys outfits.

AM New York reports that police attempted to hold the Proud Boys across the street from the LGBTQ Community Center, but a few managed to break through police lines and charged those lined up for the event.

One man in a gold Guy Fawkes mask reportedly slapped an attendee and assaulted reporters covering the event. He was arrested by police at the scene.

Supporters of the story hour defended themselves from the attack, chanting “Fuck

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the Proud Boys!” According to the Washington Press, several Proud Boys retreated from the scene with blood visible on their faces.

“I came here to help, not get the shit beat out of me,” one of the group’s bloodied members complained to reporters.

A short video of the scuffle was posted on Twitter by a witness. Police have not yet revealed if charges will be filed against the man in the gold mask.

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National/International News International news highlights

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Staff Writer Young Tory sits out candidacy for Transphobic remarks Nineteen-year-old Tory candidate Ethan Pugh has been banned from upcoming local elections in Darlington, England, after his Facebook comment from March 1, now deleted, was found to misgender a Green Party councilor and use transphobic language.

Conservative Party officials opened an investigation into his comments and had him suspended, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Pugh apologized, saying he had worked with LGBTQ charities in the past, and that he “understands the difficulties” faced by the community.

“I was not attempting to offend anyone and meant no malice,” Pugh said.

“I would like to offer my sincere apologies to everyone who has been affected.”

In light of his apology, and his agreeing to go through diversity training, his suspension was lifted. His candidacy for the May elections, however, was not reinstated.

Photo courtesy of AFP

Future uncertain for LGBTQ families in Italy Italy’s government, led by far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has intervened in the northern city of Milan to put a stop to the local government’s official recognition of households led by same-sex couples. In response, hundreds of people took to the streets to protest the decision, holding pink pens aloft as symbols of their demands.

Elly Schlein, the new leader of Italy’s center-left Democratic Party, demanded of Meloni “not to discriminate against the daughters and sons of these wonderful families.”

“We are talking about boys and girls already growing up in our communities and going to our schools,” Schlein continued.

“It is no longer tolerable, and these families are tired of being discriminated against.”

Although same-sex unions have been legal in Italy since 2016, Catholic and conservative groups have managed to exclude language around same-sex couples’ adoption rights, and around surrogate pregnancies, which remain illegal in the country.

Mayor Giuseppe Sala of Milan, who was forced by the Interior Ministry to halt the registration of same-sex couples’ children, said the development was “a clear step

backwards, politically and socially, and I put myself in the shoes of those parents who thought they could count on this possibility in Milan.”

The affected families will find it harder to access certain state services and benefits normally available to fully registered couples, such as healthcare, inheritance, and child support.

Even Matteo Salvini, Italy’s far-right infrastructure minister, said in a tweet that Meloni had gone too far: “A person can be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual: love is free, beautiful, and sacred for all.”

ARKANSAS

continued from cover Superintendents, principals, and teachers who violate the prohibition could face fines of at least $1,000 from a state panel, and parents could also file private lawsuits to enforce the measure.

Similar laws have been enacted in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. The Oklahoma and Tennessee laws have been challenged in federal courts, however.

According to the new Arkansas law, schools must provide what is called “reasonable accommodation” for Trans students, including single-person restrooms.

“Each child in our schools has a right to privacy and to feel safe and to feel comfortable in the bathroom they need to go to,” Republican Rep. Mary Bentley, the bill’s sponsor, told lawmakers earlier this year.

But Clayton Crockett, the father of a Transgender child, said a similar policy adopted at his daughter’s school made her feel further marginalized.

“She feels targeted, she feels discriminated against, she feels bullied, she feels singled out,” Crockett said at a House panel hearing on the bill.

“They’re singling out Transgender people for no other reason than dislike, disapproval, and misunderstanding of who Transgender youth are,” said Paul Castillo, senior counsel and students’ rights strategist for Lambda Legal.

“And the entire school population suffers as a result of these types of bills, particularly schools and teachers and administrators who are dealing with real problems and need to focus on creating a welcome environment for every student.”

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders – Photo by Al Drago / Reuters “It’s a flagrant message from them that they refuse to respect [Transgender funding for schools that may need to build According to the HRC, more than two dozen school district was constitutional, however.

Earlier this month, Sanders signed a people’s] rights and humanity, to respect single-person restrooms to provide reason- bathroom bills have been filed in 17 states.

At least two federal appeals courts have wide-ranging education bill that prohibits Arkansans’ rights and humanity,” said able accommodations.

Unfortunately, the Arkansas measure upheld Transgender students’ rights to use classroom instruction on gender identity Holly Dickson, executive director of the might be followed by an even stricter bill the bathroom corresponding with their gen- and sexual orientation before fifth grade.

ACLU of Arkansas.

Opponents of the new law have also criminalizing Trans adults who use public der identity. A federal appeals court in Flor- The restriction is similar to a Florida meacomplained the legislation doesn’t provide restrooms that match their gender identity. ida ruled that a similar policy at a Florida sure now called the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

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C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Episode 54: Benny Loy Ash is out of town, so Lindsey's running the show! Get ready to hear about dogs! The Last of Us! Trans rights! Advice columnist and all around fun gal Isabel Mata fills in as guest host. Author and SGN contributor Benny Loy joins the party for our interview this week.

WEEKLY! FIND US WHEREVER YOU LISTEN TO PODCASTS!

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MARCH 24, 2023

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