SGN May 3, 2024

LGBTQ SENIORS SHINE AS “PILLARS OF PRIDE”

BY SHELBY OLSON

SGN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The queen of queens, Jinkx Monsoon, the first and only two-time winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, has shared with the world her new personal name: Hera Hoffer. The performer still uses her stage name but said she made this change to reflect her personal identity, which is separate from her drag.

Monsoon, who has been open about her gender fluidity for a decade, has added more recently that she identifies as Trans-femme Nonbinary. This year, she started hormone replacement therapy and underwent facial feminization surgery. In March, she posted pictures of her recovery on social media, sharing that a Trans elder told her, “Jinkx, it’s never too late.”

BY CAMERON MARTINEZ SGN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Sunday, April 28, GenPride held its “Pillars of Pride 2024: Honoring the Silver in the Rainbow” event to celebrate the legacy of Queer seniors with awards, performances by Aleksa Manila and Gaysha Starr, and a unique brunch experience.

Chatting about SIFF’s “50th anniversary” with Artistic Director Beth Barrett

BY SARA MICHELLE FETTERS SGN STAFF WRITER

My first experience attending the Seattle International Film Festival came in 1993. I was one of the last few people who managed to cram their way into the Egyptian Theater, now the SIFF Egyptian, to see the much-ballyhooed director’s cut of James Cameron’s 1989 underwater epic The Abyss At that time, there were still “view limited”

seats in the balcony, and I got stuck in one of those, which put a serious crick in my neck as I watched all 171 minutes in fascinated rapture. It was glorious.

Fast-forward to today, and I can’t begin to count how many incredible experiences I’ve had during SIFF. Many of my favorite moments came watching films that

SIFF PAGE 15

Gay men and AIDS at a theatre near you? IN THIS ISSUE

BY JOHN RUNYAN

LONGTIME COMPANION

Directed by Norman Rene Capitol Hill Cinemas

The first time I saw Longtime Companion, the theatrical film about Gay men and AIDS with a potential of mainstream success, I was full of dread and defensive. I cried twice. A second viewing opportunity at SIFF a couple of weeks later seemed much more cohesive and richly layered. I laughed more. I checked my reservations at the door and left feeling full of pride. The movie continues to stay with me. I even find myself singing in my head old songs featured on the soundtrack, such as Blondie’s “The Tide Is High” and The Village People’s “YMCA.” Time, Newsweek , and Rolling Stone have printed raves. Superlatives are being bandied about in the mainstream media. The United States Film Festival awarded the film their prestigious Audience Award. But what of the average Gay movie-goer?

Comments I’ve already heard range from “The incredibly realistic scene where they change the man’s diaper’s brought the smell and hospital experience back that I remember so well from nursing my friend,” to “These upper-middle class Caucasian men in relationships make this the Making Love of AIDS movies. Somebody had to have made it. I think my mother would like it.” […]

Longtime Companion’s cross-over success to multiplexes and middle America may very well depend on the Gay and AIDS communities demonstrating financial and verbal support of a big screen depiction of the people and issues central to our lives.[…]

The destinies of a party-minded crowd summering on Fire Island crosses paths over a period of years with a closeted Gay soapstar Howard (Patrick Cassidy), his lover Paul (John Dorsett), and the pair’s straight nextdoor neighbor Lisa (Mary-Louise Parker). In a clever film montage, a small news item reporting on a mysterious Gay disease, buried on page 20 of the July 3, 1981 issues of the New York Times, is simultaneously brought to the attention of these eight people the script will focus on. Erotic first kisses, cobaltblue bathing suits, deck-side tea-dances, and theme parties on the beach hit high tide before slowly washing away as small-talk becomes crowded with the novelty of AIDSgenerated disbelief, joking, and armchair theorizing. The wonderfully sunny nostalgia of this hedonistic period of Gay history is encroached upon by pangs of fear and discomfort over the spector [sic] of AIDS.

In the first of an on-going series of yearly jumps forward by the script to emphasize ever-changing reactions to the impact of AIDS, John (Dermot Mulroney) is the first of our group to be diagnosed. The stage is set for three couples, David and Sean (Bruce Davison and Mark Lamos), Fuzzy and Willy (Stephen Caffey and Campbell Scott), and Howard and Paul, and Lisa, to come face to face with AIDS. Learning to care for — and let go of — each other in new ways follows.

[Screenwriter Craig] Lucas and [Director Norman] Rene’s handling of AIDS is sensitive but methodically diligent. The camera shies away from exploitation and sensationalism while documenting procedures. Varying stages of treatments and care-taking accompany detailing of pneumocystis,

AIDS dementia, and Kaposi’s sarcoma. Phases of griefwork — shock, denial, anger, sadness, acceptance, reconstruction — are grappled with. Peaks and valleys of emotion bring us up and down, though with plenty of distractions to enable us to detach and diffuse being overwhelmed. […]

With rumors of And the Band Played On and The Normal Heart being tentatively filmed, plus the film Silence=Death (mentioned hastily, without details, in a recent Variety), Longtime Companion is perhaps only the tip of the mainstream movie iceberg. More political, angry, sexual, integrated, and impassioned films can follow in Longtime Companion’s wake — if the film is considered successful and profitable. Perhaps the time has come for AIDS and homosexuality to break out of their celluloid closets with a new genre of films repeating the socially conscious success of all those Vietnam War movies. Except where those films look back with the relative comfort of time and distance, the volatile story of AIDS and Gay/Lesbian civil rights continues being in somebody’s face. Longtime Companion compassionately gives us a perspective on how our attitudes towards living and dying with AIDS are evolving, that the Gay community is comprised of fighters and survivors, and that we are an increasingly visible and vital part of the world.

This article was edited for length. To view the article in full, visit: https:// washingtondigitalnewspapers. org/?a=d&d=SGN19900525&e=------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------

SEATTLE NEWS

Visit Seattle organization seeks Pride art

BY CAMERON MARTINEZ SGN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Visit Seattle, a private nonprofit destination marketing organization serving Seattle and King County, is seeking Queer-made art to honor Seattle’s 50th anniversary of Pride.

“We are doing an open call to creators/artists of all kinds,” said Britt Fero of PB& on behalf of Visit Seattle. “We’re hoping to get a diverse range of creators to answer the question ‘How do you feel love/acceptance in Seattle?’ through their craft. And then we will feature them on Instagram. Based on the submissions, we will also look for other opportunities to display and highlight that work, whether that’s in real life or other digital properties, but social will be our main way of amplifying their response.”

This could be anything from a drawing, a photo, a song, a dance, or a selfie. Over the 50 days surrounding Pride, answers will be showcased on @wesealove.

Those interested in participating can send their work @wesealove on Instagram.

“Ties

and Tiaras” to raise funds for Trans Pride

BY HANNAH SAUNDERS

SGN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Get out your finest attire for the first-ever “Ties and Tiaras” fundraiser for Trans Pride Seattle on Sunday, May 19 from 7 to 9 p.m., hosted at Sleight of Hand Cellars in SoDo. There will be live performances, a silent auction, and a plethora of wines, beers and desserts.

Mac S. McGregor, who fought hard for marriage equality and is author of Positive Masculinity Now, began the planning process about three months ago. The idea stemmed from a conversation he held with leaders at Gender Justice League (GJL) about the state of the world and attacks on the Transgender and gender-diverse communities.

“I’m a person that really believes in supporting one another and us collaborating, and when any of us in the community are going through a rough time, the rest of the community should step up and lift each other up,” McGregor told the SGN

With a history of pulling together fundraisers, GJL encouraged McGregor to pursue the black-tie type of event to support the work of GJL and Trans Pride.

“We’re making it an annual event so that when we talk to our donors and our sponsors, we create relationships with them that are ongoing for this,” McGregor said.”

Compete

Entertainment Ticket sales are flooding in, and McGregor expects at about a hundred attendees to fill the facility, which holds about 150. He’s been asking businesses to provide donations, including desserts from Cupcake Royale and Deep Sea Sugar & Salt. McGregor mentioned that the Sleight of Hand manager is Gay and how he and his partner are doing everything to support the fundraising effort, like donating the venue for the two-hour event.

Attendees will have the opportunity to

mingle with each other first, and entertainment will begin shortly after, with the first being a compilation video of the history of Trans Pride.

“The largest Trans Pride in the world [is] here in Seattle, [and] we’re going to do a little video telling of [its] history,” McGregor said.

Among the performers will be drag star Sylvia O’Stayformore and storyteller Melissa Reaves, who will describe her child’s journey on coming out as Transgender.

“It’s going to be really fun. We want it to be fun and festive, and try to celebrate the

Trans and gender-nonconforming community,” McGregor said.

Goals

McGregor is still in the process of collecting items for the silent auction, which will include an original $1,000 painting by Seattle artist Ryan Henry Ward, wine baskets, beer baskets, and gift certificates. He encourages those interested in donating items to the auction to contact him.

“Our goal is to raise $15,000. We probably will raise five of that through ticket sales and the rest through the silent auction. We’re going to do an ask, of course,” McGregor said.

Tickets are still available and start at $50 per person. Volunteers are still needed for setup and cleanup of the event.

“We’re also still looking for sponsorship for the event,” McGregor said, which start at $500. “Even $500 is a big help.”

For more information or to become involved with “Ties and Tiaras,” visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ties-tiarasa-trans-pride-friendraising-eventtickets-876998625497

Sports Diversity to hold Seattle summit, training

BY KALI HERBST MININO SGN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Compete Sports Diversity, an organization that provides certificates in sports diversity leadership with a mission to unite the world through sports, will host an online training on May 16. The event will focus on using privilege to bolster marginalized communities and feature special guests Luchie Javelosa, senior sports sales manager at Tempe Tourism; and Martin Stark, chief executive officer of World Gay Boxing Championships.

The course qualifies for sports diversity leadership certification credit, assuming the attendee is registered for that program. Designed specifically to teach aspiring professionals about DEI initiatives in the sporting world, the SDL track focuses primarily on the LGBTQ+ sports community. The website offers explanations of what the initials mean, what the “pink dollar” is, and why Queer sporting events and Pride festivals are important.

“With the rise in representation and

acceptance of LGBTQ+ community, it has become trendy to add ‘diversity and inclusion’ statements and/or change a corporate logo to a rainbow pattern every year for Pride month,” the page about the SDL certification says. “While these efforts are a start, they often fail to embrace what it truly means to be ‘diverse and inclusive.’

To be diverse and inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community is to know the history and learn from the LGBTQ+ community.”

Compete Sports Diversity does more than certify professionals in DEI practices, though. Its leadership team holds summits that gather its 150 member organizations multiple times a year, one of which is at

Seattle University on May 10 and 11, though tickets are not currently available. Publishing content about Queer sports through its website and Compete Magazine, the organization also serves as a news source for a niche part of the LGBTQ+ world.

The two guests for the event on May 16 boast impressive résumés. Aside from her role at Tempe Tourism, Javelosa was the 2021 Sports ETA Young Professional of the Year, and recently moderated an event called “Creating Inclusive Communities through Sports.” She also worked at Visit Tucson for six years as a sports coordinator, sports sales manager, and director. Stark, aside from his work at World Gay Boxing Championships, is an inspirational speaker and LinkedIn coach who has been featured on various news sites, including CNN, BBC, and ABC.

Tickets for the Compete Sports Diversity’s SDL training are available at https://competediversitysummit.com and cost $95. More information is also available at website.

ANDIII_VIBES

COURTESY IMAGE

LUCHIE JAVELOSA & MARTIN STARK – COURTESY PHOTOS

“Our elders have laid the foundation of bravery and love that has empowered our community.”

PILLARS

CONTINUED FROM COVER

“Our elders have laid the foundation of bravery and love that has empowered our community,” said Judy Kinney, the executive director of GenPride, in a press release. “‘Honoring the Silver in the Rainbow’ is our theme this year to celebrate their incredible journey and to acknowledge their pivotal role in our ongoing fight for equality.”

2024 Pillars of Pride awardees

This year featured seven award winners and six different awards.

The “Building Legacies” award went to attorney at law Dean Sargent, who has been an active force in the Queer community since the 1970s, when he was one of the first openly Gay attorneys in the state and has continued to be a leader to this day. He currently works as the director of the Lillian Miller Foundation, where he contributes to fostering a more inclusive artistic community, supporting Trans and Indigiqueer artists through fellowships.

The “Building Belonging” award went to Paul Green and Isaac Payne.

Green has been working tirelessly for over 40 years to address the needs of Queer people of color, and he has also been integral in helping those living with HIV/AIDS since the disease surfaced. In recent years, Green opened Jackson Street Collective, a barber shop that serves as a gathering space for community organizing.

Payne has played an essential role in shaping Seattle’s Black LGBTQ+ community through years of organizing, board leadership, and mentorship. Most notably, his work as a board member for Black Pride has led to numerous events and parties that both provided a celebration space and promoted solidarity and connection among attendees.

The “Community Catalyst” award went to Alma Goddard, a 73-year-old Chicana

and Two-Spirit elder who is influential within the Queer community and Pacific Northwest tribes. Her repertoire of achievements includes aiding Native women and children, co-founding numerous Lesbian organizations, playing clarinet for Harvey Milk’s campaign, and being an advocate against gender-based violence.

The “Iconic Artistry” award went to Christine Wheeler-Sinclair, who opened Seattle’s first Lesbian-owned café in 1980, organized the first National Women of Color in the Arts Festival/Conference in Seattle in 1994, and founded the “Art Bridge Project” in the early 2000s to address the creative needs of Queer youth. In recent years she has continued her advocacy through volunteering for the Southeast Seattle Senior Center and the GenPride center.

The “Volunteer Virtuoso” award went to Rita Smith, who has dedicated over 40 years to the LGBTQ+ community in Seattle by serving as a board member and group facilitator for the Lesbian Resource Center, the Seattle Safe Schools Coalition, and the City of Seattle Commission for Sexual Minorities, and by being part of the founding board of Gen Pride. She continues her activism today by managing GenPride’s Facebook groups, facilitating forums for Old Lesbians for Change, and helping firstgeneration college-bound students with applications.

The “Rainbow Partnership” award went to Pride Across the Bridge (PAB), a nonprofit that wants to change the perception that Seattle is the only support system for the Queer community. The organization acknowledges the abundance of wealth on the Eastside and uses it to ensure that local resources are accessible to everyone in the Queer community.

Those interested in donating to GenPride can visit https://genprideseattle. org/donate.

REGIONAL NEWS

One year after the state’s new animal abuse law: What’s changed?

BY LINDSEY ANDERSON SGN STAFF WRITER

In 2023, Washington state passed one of the most comprehensive animal welfare laws in the country. HB 1424, introduced by Rep. April Berg of Mill Creek, is intended to protect consumers by implementing harsh fines on any pet store that imports domestic dogs and cats from unlawful “puppy mills.” Washington’s previous law barring puppy mills shut down such in-state operations but did not prevent pet stores from obtaining animals from out of state.

Despite earlier laws banning puppy mill operations, many continued to run shady dog breeding businesses under the guise of “backyard breeding.” According to PAWS, today, puppy mills are hiding in plain sight. “Puppy mills are commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce dogs (and cats in cat mills) for sale through pet stores, or directly to consumers through classified ads or the internet,” PAWS said in a statement.

“Roughly 90% of puppies in pet stores come from puppy mills. Many retailers who buy animals from such facilities take the wholesaler’s word that the animals are happy and healthy without seeing for themselves.”

Just weeks after the bill passed, Gail Oaksmith was arrested in Grays Harbor after years of complaints from neighbors regarding her inhumane breeding practices.

Oaksmith reportedly kept just under the legal limit of 50 intact dogs for breeding purposes on her property. A March 2017 police report showed that an initial investigation found “urine and feces everywhere,” and “no food and water visible.” A report the

following month revealed even more disturbing updates. “[Four] of her dogs (a great dane, [two] red Irish setters, and a small [black] dog) killed her cat on her property,” the report confirmed. The reports continued for five years with no action until the passage of Washington’s latest animal cruelty law.

“In most states, these commercial breeding kennels can legally keep hundreds of dogs in cages their entire lives, for the sole purpose of continuously churning out puppies,” the PAWS statement continued. “The animals produced range from purebreds to any number of the latest ‘designer’ mixed breeds.”

In the year since the passage of HB 1424, Washington has seen a decrease in imported animals via pet stores, but

backyard breeders are now just finding other ways around the law. For Oaksmith, it meant keeping just under the minimum number of intact dogs. When the new owners of one of her puppies reported to police that the animal was covered in fleas and suffering from parasite infestations, the law could not be invoked, as the Washington State Department of Agriculture states that it is only unlawful to sell parasite-ridden animals if they pose a threat of spreading to human beings, which is unlikely with dogs.

Since the passage of this law, the state has seen an increase in crackdowns against cruel breeding operations around King County, but other backyard breeders continue to violate the law while police turn a blind eye. In September 2023, 17 doodles

were found abandoned near a highway in Whatcom County. County police, tipped off by neighbors, investigated the situation as a suspicious backyard breeder, though no arrests were made. The dogs were in deplorable condition and incredibly fearful of any human contact.

A similar story unfolded on March 30, 2024, when a mother dog was found tied to a tree in Willard, Washington, along with eight purebred puppies. The family was transported to a rescue group 35 miles south, in Oregon, where they were treated by veterinary staff and are currently working on socialization. Once again, no arrests or leads have been made in the case.

These cases continue to stack up. On April 2, a Spokane County judge signed a search warrant to investigate a doodlebreeding operation outside the city. Neighbors reported that the male breeding dog starved to death and was buried in a shallow grave in a field near the home. Police investigated and confirmed that the dog had, indeed, starved to death, with owners claiming they “forgot to feed him.” Despite the report, the animals were not removed from the premises, and the owners faced no fines.

Although it’s been a year since Washington passed the latest comprehensive animal cruelty prevention law, incidents continue to occur with few to no consequences. Rescue organizations, like PAWS, believe the best way to crack down on cruel animal breeding practices is by fostering and adopting pets from local shelters and decreasing the supply-demand loop that feeds backyard breeders.

HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES

National news highlights

BY TEDDY MACQUARRIE SGN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Seattle hospital will not turn over records of Trans youth care to Texas AG

As part of a lawsuit settlement announced Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is dropping a request for a Seattle hospital to hand over records regarding gender-affirming treatment potentially given to children from Texas.

Seattle Children’s Hospital filed the lawsuit against Paxton’s office in December in response to the Republican going beyond his state’s borders to investigate Transgender health care. Paxton, a staunch conservative who has helped drive GOP efforts that target the rights of Trans people, sent similar letters to Texas hospitals last year.

The Seattle hospital said in a statement that it had “successfully fought” the “overreaching demands to obtain confidential patient information.” A judge in Austin dismissed the lawsuit Friday, saying the parties had settled their dispute.

Texas is among states that have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for Transgender minors.

Biden administration finalizes rules protecting Trans students; no word on inclusion in sports

The rights of Queer students will be protected by federal law, and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday by the Biden administration. The new provisions are part of a revised Title IX regulation issued by the Education Department, fulfilling a cam-

paign pledge by President Biden, who had promised to dismantle rules created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who added new protections for students accused of sexual misconduct.

The administration originally planned to include a new policy forbidding schools from enacting outright bans on Transgender athletes, but that provision was put on hold. The delay is widely seen as a political maneuver during an election year in which Republicans have rallied around bans on Transgender athletes in girls’ sports.

The regulation is meant to clarify schools’ obligations under Title IX, the 1972 women’s rights law that outlaws discrimi-

nation in education based on sex. It applies to schools that receive federal money. The update is to take effect in August.

Kansas governor vetoes anti-Trans bill, allows one requiring ID to view “acts of homosexuality”

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas vetoed an anti-Trans bill while simultaneously signing one requiring an ID to view “acts of homosexuality.”

Kelly issued vetoes Friday against a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, as well as two anti-abortion measures. She also let pass without her signature a law requiring age-verification to view content

International news highlights

BY TEDDY MACQUARRIE

SGN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Scotland: First minister resigns, leaving questions over course of Queer rights

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has resigned barely a year into the role after the collapse of his government, following a planned no-confidence vote called for by the Green Party, part of his coalition. Yousaf took over as the leader of the Scottish National Party last March, hoping to extend its domination of politics there.

Yousaf has been praised by Queer advocates for his progressive stance, including confirming that Trans women will be protected under new misogyny laws in Scotland. His decision to resign has been the subject of speculation in light of the final report of the Cass Review published on April 10, which cast a critical light on gender-affirming care for minors in the UK, and subsequent tensions with other members of the Scottish parliament. Yousaf’s resignation leaves the matter of Queer rights uncertain as his replacement is chosen.

Iraq: International groups condemn new anti-Queer law

Human rights groups and diplomats have criticized a law passed by the Iraqi parliament on April 27 that would impose heavy prison sentences on Gay and Transgender people. Those that have added their voices to the mounting criticism include the US State Department and former UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Although homosexuality is taboo in the largely conservative country, and political leaders have periodically

launched anti-Queer campaigns, Iraq did not have a law that explicitly criminalized it. The new law passed with little notice as an amendment to the country’s existing antiprostitution law. It imposes a sentence of 10–15 years for same-sex relations and a prison term of 1–3 years for people who undergo or perform gender-transition surgeries and for “intentional practice of effeminacy.”

It further bans any organization that promotes “sexual deviancy,” imposing a sentence of at least seven years and a fine of no less than 10 million dinars (about $7,600 USD).

UK: New study finds inadequate response to mpox outbreak

A new study of Gay, Bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in the United Kingdom who were diagnosed with mpox (formerly monkeypox) found they often encountered difficulties accessing medical testing and treatment. The participants also felt a stigma attached to the disease and reported that their diagnoses resulted in negative reactions from members of both the straight and Queer communities.

The study, entitled “Experiences of mpox illness and case management among cis and trans gay, bisexual and other men

“harmful to minors.” Under Kansas criminal law, that includes nudity and “sexual content,” which is defined in part as “acts of masturbation, homosexuality, or sexual intercourse.” As written, “acts of homosexuality” could theoretically apply to the inclusion of Queer characters in familyfriendly entertainment.

The law, which will go into effect on July 1, requires users to share their government-issued identification in order to view adult content. Websites can be fined up to $10,000 for each instance a minor accesses their content, and parents are allowed to sue for damages of at least $50,000.

There are likely enough Republican votes to support an override of Kelly’s vetoes.

Report: 93% of Trans youth live in states targeting gender-affirming care

Over 90% of Transgender youth in the United States are living in states that have either passed or proposed legislation restricting their rights, according to a new study.

The report from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found that 93% of Transgender minors aged 13–17 — approximately 280,300 people — live in states that have considered or enacted laws restricting their access to health care, sports, and school facilities. There are only an estimated 300,100 children aged 13–17 in the US who identify as Transgender.

A large percentage of Trans youth live in states where such laws have been enacted, including 85% of Trans youth in the South and 40% in the Midwest.

who have sex with men in England: A qualitative study,” used in-depth interviews with 22 GBMSM who contracted mpox and four stakeholders from various clinical and communication organizations. It was published on March 12, 2024, by lead researcher T. Charles Witzel, in eClinicalMedicine, with the interviews conducted March through July of 2023.

Italy: Prime minister, far right seek harsher criminal penalties for surrogacy

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said surrogacy is “inhuman” and is backing steeper penalties against the practice, including fines of up to $1 million and multiple-year prison sentences.

The act of surrogacy — with or without payment — is already illegal in Italy, but Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party has introduced a bill that would further criminalize the act by hiking fines from €600,000 ($640,290) to €1 million ($1,067,150) and increasing jail terms from three months up to two years.

Meloni’s comments against surrogacy fall in line with the views held by the Catholic Church. In a document released April 8, Pope Francis addressed surrogacy, saying it “violates” both the dignity of the child and the woman, who “becomes a mere means subservient to the arbitrary gain or desire of others.”

The move to criminalize surrogacy is largely seen as being against the Queer community. Italy was the last Western European country to legalize same-sex unions (in 2016), but it does not allow same-sex couples to be married, in line with the Catholic Church.

SEATTLE CHILDREN'S

So long, SGN

The column is coming to end, but this is not goodbye

In early June of 2022, days after my 26th birthday, I found myself sitting in a parking lot overlooking the California coast. The ocean stretched out before me, and the day was gray and stormy, mirroring the turmoil I felt inside.

It was hard to be present in that moment, I remember. The world felt heavy with bad news, making it difficult to stay grounded and find beauty. Yet that’s exactly what I yearned for — to release myself from the negativity and simply exist.

I felt entangled in the emotions of others, caught in a constant push and pull that left me drained. This wasn’t new. Even as a child, I believed myself to be unlovable because I felt everything so intensely. “Oh, she’s just sensitive,” they would say, turning their backs on my tears. Countless hours were lost ruminating over things outside my control. Anxiety and depression were my constant companions, their voices echoing in my head night after night as I clung to dreams and goals far beyond my reach. Even when I achieved professional success, a hollowness remained. Nothing felt truly aligned.

At that moment, I began to reflect on how I got there. I thought back to myself at 23, trapped in an unhealthy relationship, breaking down day after day. But instead of my usual escape tactic — chasing the next big thing to outrun my problems — I decided to turn inward. If I ever wanted to live a fulfilling life, I had to choose myself.

This meant accepting that I was worthy of love and happiness, even when my own brain told a different story. This realization led me to seek a proper diagnosis, medication, mindfulness practices, and therapy —

BY ISABEL MATA SGN STAFF WRITER

Ask Izzy is an 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.

all in pursuit of thriving, not just surviving. Through this journey, I discovered that the very sensitivity I once considered a weakness was actually my greatest strength.

As I gazed out at the vast expanse of the ocean, a question nagged at the back of my mind: what if my purpose on earth was to tell stories and be myself loudly, in the hopes of destigmatizing mental illness? It seemed too easy, too simplistic. Yet, at the same time, it resonated with a deep truth within me.

This newfound understanding fueled the creation of “Ask Izzy” in July of that year. It stemmed from a desire to help others the way I wished someone had helped me, as well

as a deep yearning for Queer community. It became a safe space for sharing my experiences and the tools I gained on my path to self-discovery, with the hope that others wouldn’t have to walk this road alone.

As I reflect on the journey of the past two years since launching this column, I’m filled with a profound sense of fulfillment. Those 50 essays, ranging from topics like setting boundaries to embracing pleasure and combating hustle culture, have been a labor of love, vulnerability, and authenticity, each word penned with the intention of supporting others on their path to being the best version of themselves.

However, the winds of change have swept through this publication, and regrettably, my column is no longer a priority. As the paper moves in a different direction, I find myself grappling with the reality of its absence in my life.

Despite this setback, I remain steadfast in my commitment to authenticity and growth. While the platform may change, the essence of my message remains unwavering. My aspirations to expand my reach and inspire others to live authentically persist undiminished.

Amid these challenges, I’m reminded of the power of community. It’s through the support, encouragement, and shared experiences of the SGN community that I’ve found strength and resilience. And so, I extend my heartfelt thanks to each person who has joined me on this journey thus far. If you’ve found resonance in my words and wish to continue engaging with my work, I invite you to subscribe to my Substack at https://isabelmata.substack.com. Additionally, stay connected with me on social media; you can find me on Instagram at @isabelcalkinsmata, where I share insights and snippets of my journey, and on TikTok at @ilcalkins, where I offer lighthearted moments and laughter.

Together, let’s navigate these changes with grace and resilience. Thank you for being part of my story.

Gothic Pride Seattle teams up with CoCA for Dreadful Beauty ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

BY LINDSEY ANDERSON SGN STAFF WRITER

The Center on Contemporary Art, also known as CoCA, is working with Gothic Pride Seattle (GPS) to launch Dreadful Beauty: History and Art from Gothic Pride Seattle. This exhibition will not only showcase many talented members of Seattle’s goth community over time but is also working to raise money to fund GPS’s Pride float for the 2024 parade.

The exhibition will open on Thursday evening, May 2, at CoCA at the TK Building in Pioneer Square. All artists featured are local to the Seattle area and members of the LGBTQ+ community, and receive payment to feature their artwork. Any donations made at the exhibit, and all additional profits after the artists are compensated, will go toward Gothic Pride Seattle’s giant bat float, a hit during the annual Pride Parade in June. Each piece included in the exhibit was chosen by event curators to reflect on the modern post-pandemic goth movement. “Our curators are interested in how the movement’s visual iconography (neo-punk, hardcore, metal, popular culture, eroticism, body horror, etc.) has changed in the wake of the pandemic and the recent attack on Trans rights by conservative politicians,” said Xavior Lopez, co-vice president of CoCA.

The event will be like nothing CoCA has ever seen and will even include the infamous goth superstar DJ JQ Quesada, straight out of Mercury Goth Dance Club in Capitol Hill.

“Strap on your ‘stompies,’ dress in your fanciest goth dress attire, put on your eyeliner and best red lipstick, and take in some art,” Lopez said. “Remember half the proceeds (after paying the artists) go to Gothic Pride and will help to fund our Pride float! The bat is back!”

Long history

Since its founding in 2001, Gothic Pride Seattle has evolved to become a multi-

faceted organization. Originally founded by Lancer Forney to celebrate LGBTQ+ members of the goth community, the organization officially became a nonprofit in 2015. Today, Gothic Pride Seattle organizes community events, including consent workshops, the Little Black Flea Market, and of course the annual Goth Pageant. It also provides resources for LGBTQ+ youth through virtual and in-person workshops. The goth subculture began in the UK in

the 1980s as an offshoot of the post-punk era. While originally deriving from the music scene, it is seen as a lifestyle today and encompasses fashion, artwork, and pop culture. The American goth movement, which began in cities like Seattle shortly after its UK origins, draws inspiration from popular cinema, including Beetlejuice, The Hunger, and Tim Burton films like The Corpse Bride

From the beginning, the goth community held similarities with the LGBTQ+ community. In the early ’80s, it declared a rejection of “traditional standards of sexual property” and embraced “deviant sexual practices.” Serving as a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth, the goth community became increasingly popular toward the turn of the century.

Unfortunately, it also stirred a moral panic among conservatives and religious organizations for “embracing the darkness” and pushing progressive political ideas. Today, the goth community remains a safe space for LGBTQ+ children and adults. No stranger to the moral panic that being visibly different can cause, Goth Pride Seattle hopes this latest event will make a statement about how valuable LGBTQ+ people are to the goth community.

Dreadful Beauty is more than just an art show — it’s a celebration of the resilience of Seattle’s LGBTQ+ goth community, how far they’ve come, and a reminder that there’s beauty in the darkness.

BEN MACK

TOM GORMALLY'S “PRIDE APOCALYPSE” – COCA

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Eurovision 2024: Who’s who among the Queer participants

BY RICHARD ISAAC SGN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The 68th edition of Eurovision — the world’s most watched non-sporting event and the longest-running annual TV music competition— will take place in Malmö, Sweden, next week. And, along with the thousands of LGBTQ+ fans in the arena (and tens of millions watching at home), a number of Queer artists will take the stage to represent their country. Here’s a look at them:

Nemo, 24 - Switzerland

Song: “The Code”

Nonbinary Nemo Mettler is the winner of five Swiss Music Awards but now lives in Berlin. Their music deals with themes of gender identity, mental health, and finding one’s place in the world.

Nemo’s Eurovision entry, “The Code,” has made a big splash on the betting charts (reaching #1 in fact), and the accompanying music video is a literal gender-bending and genre-blending journey — in a train going from Switzerland to Sweden. The lyrics include: “This story is my truth / I went to hell and back / To find myself on track / I broke the code…”

According to Eurovision.tv and a press release from the Swiss broadcaster, “‘The Code’ is being heralded as not just a song but a safe space through which every person can find their truth. Nemo’s truth lies … ‘somewhere between the 0s and 1s, that’s where I found my kingdom come’ [quoting the song’s lyrics]. Nemo’s personal story therefore becomes a universal narrative, a call for everyone to crack their own code and enter the kingdom of authenticity.”

Nemo added that the song “is about the journey I started with the realization that I am neither a man nor a woman. Finding myself has been a long and often difficult process... But nothing feels better than the freedom I have gained by realizing that I am Nonbinary.

“It is an incredible honor to be able to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest. This platform offers a huge opportunity to build bridges between different cultures and generations. That’s why it’s very important to me as a genderqueer person to stand up for the entire LGBTQIA+ community.”

Olly Alexander, 33 - United Kingdom

The singer, actor, and LGBT+ and mental health activist born Oliver Alexander Thornton identifies as Gay, Queer, and Nonbinary. He’s well known as the lead singer of the pop band Years & Years, which achieved two #1 albums on the UK charts, a #1 single, and five top-ten UK singles. “Dizzy,” his song for Eurovision 2024, is the first release under his own name.

Alexander has also been acting since 2008. Recently, he starred in It’s a Sin, which depicts Gay life in the 1980s and early ’90s, amid the onset of HIV/AIDS. The miniseries and Alexander’s performance both earned critical acclaim and BAFTA TV Award nominations.

In 2020, Queerty listed Alexander among the 50 heroes “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people,” and he was named LGBT Celebrity of the Year at the British LGBT Awards that year.

Alexander has also acknowledged struggling with depression, self-harm, eating disorders, and anxiety since age 13, which he attributes to the homophobia he endured. On the hardships LGBTQ+ people face, he said, “I personally am yet to meet an LGBT person that hasn’t been unscathed by growing up LGBT.” In 2019, he hosted a short BBC documentary for youth called Growing Up Gay in a Straight World

Though his work with Years & Years openly references his sexuality, Alexander says he “can’t speak for all Gay people,

because there are so many different issues and experiences, and different shapes and sizes. But I can speak for myself, and that is what I’m doing…”

As for the contest, he told the Wiwibloggs fan site, “I’ve always loved Eurovision. There’s just nothing else like Eurovision. Growing up, there was this one night of the year that was just… insane craziness — a chaotic mix of fun and all these different musical styles, all these amazing performances.”

Bambie Thug, 31 - Ireland

Song: “Doomsday Blue”

A practitioner of neopagan witchcraft, Bambie Ray Robinson plays, in their words, “ouija-pop… hyperpunk avant electro-pop… grit pop” — or a “sugar-andspice mix of pop and industrial metal,” as the Irish Times describes it.

Bambie is Nonbinary. In the Gay Times in 2023, they said, “I like being part of a cool Queer rising scene. I didn’t have that growing up, so it’s important to have people you can relate to and have music that speaks to you and allows you more freedom to be yourself — more Queer voices is what the world fucking needs.”

Their Eurovision song, “Doomsday Blue,” won the public and Irish jury votes (but not those of the international jury) in the Irish national selection; its supremely creative music video sports “a cool constellation of eye-popping visuals,” according to Eurovision.tv, which calls it “an ode to the queer community.” It contains “odes to pop culture moments” as well, “…obviously all made a bit goth,” said Bambie.

Silvester Belt, 26 - Lithuania

Song: “Luktelk (Wait Up)”

Silvestras Beltė, “out and proud” since 2017 (the year he won I Am a Superhit in Lithuania), found self-acceptance after experiencing London, where, he said, he “got to live in a world where I felt normal.”

According to Eurovision.tv, “His songs are inspired by personal life experiences, particularly drawing upon his memories of exploring his sexuality in a homophobic environment growing up, and how the suppression of those emotions affected him deeply.” His idol is Troye Sivan.

Silvester was also in Junior Eurovision in 2010, which he called “dark times for me as a young Gay boy” on the Mysteries of the Euroverse podcast. He added that he dealt with bullying, so he says it means a lot to be an openly Gay representative of Lithuania, and he is proud to represent the community. “I wish I had that when I was a young boy,” he said.

As for the relationship between his Queer identity and his aesthetic, he said, “I’ve always just wanted to feel free to look the way I look, act, dance…”

Mustii, 33 - Belgium

Song: “Before the Party’s Over”

Thomas Michel Mustin is an author, composer, singer (with two top 10 albums), and actor, known for a plethora of roles in theater, television, and Netflix productions. He is also a permanent judge on Drag Race Belgique.

According to Wiwibloggs, in an interview with the Queer magazine KET from Brussels, Mustii revealed that while he initially identified as Bi, he now prefers to avoid labels altogether. He said he simply

wants to believe that he likes “people, singular free human beings.”

As for his song, “Before the Party’s Over,” he said, “Before it’s all over, you have to live fully and intensely, but also experiment with life and step out of your comfort zone. You have to take off your mask, fully embrace yourself, listen to your feelings, and refuse to be chained and caged.”

The song — which sits in the top 10 on the betting table — ends with a chorus of fellow artists and fans, who sent videos of themselves singing a few lyrics, following a public call by Mustii last year.

Electric Fields - Australia

Electric Fields — the voice of Zaachariaha Fielding and producer and keyboardist Michael Ross — merges traditional Aboriginal culture with music that ranges from modern electric-soul to epic-scale electronica. Their song “We the People” was the anthem for World Pride in 2023.

Playing together since 2015, Fielding and Ross describe themselves as “two feminine brothers” and affectionately refer to each other as Mala (for Fielding, the “younger sibling”) and Tjutja (for Ross, the “older brother”). They are very close friends but not romantically involved. They embrace their feminine and Queer identity, saying that it makes them stronger. The pair’s motto is “bypass the barriers.”

Their Eurovision 2024 song, “One Milkali (One Blood),” about “unity, harmony and beauty,” includes some lyrics in the Aboriginal languages Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, a first for Eurovision.

NEMO – SRF ELLA METTLERC OLLY ALEXANDER – EUROVISION

SILVESTER BELT – LRT

BAMBIE THUG – LILY LYTTON RTÉ

MUSTII – RTBF

ELECTRIC FIELDS ZAACHARIAHA FIELDING AND MICHAEL ROSS – MORGAN SETTE

She wrote, “I will continue to use my voice till the day I die to fight for everyone, everywhere who is worried that it’s ‘too late.’ We all find our path. We all find our time. You do you, however you want to do you, whenever you can — it’s never too late.”

In an interview with Cosmopolitan, she opened up about her gender journey, and discovering who she was outside of drag.

“I removed all the rules and parameters I had placed on myself,” she said. “I’ve identified as a Trans-feminine Nonbinary person for the last five years or so. And within that self-identity, I put so many rules on myself. My clothing had to stay on one side of androgynous. I wouldn’t go too far into feminine. I never allowed myself to wear dresses out of drag in public, because I thought it would attract the wrong kind of attention. Sometime at the end of last year… I lifted all those rules and took a step forward.”

She also talked about starting her medical transition, finding that “every day, I just feel like I’m taking strides toward the person I always saw myself becoming.”

The name Hera, which is also the name of Monsoon’s new fragrance, was inspired by the Greek myths she read as a child. She was drawn to Hera the most because she was “the queen.” For those unfamiliar with Greek mythology, Hera was the queen of the gods and wife of Zeus, infamous for tormenting the women her husband had affairs with. Not the most benevolent figure of queendom to be sure, but Monsoon broke this portrayal down in an interview with INTO. “She has a horrible reputation. She’s depicted as this envious, rage-filled, naturally evil person, and that’s not actually who she was. She was a woman under a certain set of circumstances who did pretty well for herself, I think!”

Monsoon’s aim with the Hera fragrance was as much about this reclamation as about sharing some of her gender journey.

“Perfume became important to me when

I really started to invest in how I present myself to the world. Perfume became just another way of showing everyone who I am, and I didn’t think that it could be so important,” Monsoon said in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily. “In my own Trans

identity… I’m constantly self-manifesting and finding ways to be more myself, to… present myself to the rest of the world so that they see me and smell me the way I want them to know me.” She describes the scent as “witchy” and hopes it will attract people of any age and gender.

On stage and screen

Following her first victory on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Monsoon became known for her sharp wit and uncanny impressions. A queen of many realms, she appeared in several films and TV shows, produced three original albums, and flaunted her comedic prowess as a host, most recently for the Queerty Awards. Last year, she fulfilled her lifelong dream of starring on Broadway, debuting in Chicago. According to Playbill, the production achieved the “highest selling non-holiday week in the show’s 26-year history.”

On April 2, she starred on Broadway as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, which was her favorite movie musical as a kid. She was elated to land the role, which she

“Every day, I just feel like I’m taking strides toward the person I always saw myself becoming.”

previously felt was “out of the realm of possibility” for her.

Many in the Queer community read the character of Audrey as Trans, even though most major productions have largely cast cis women in the role. In one interview, Monsoon stated, “I’m not intending to play Audrey as a Trans woman — I’m just trying to play Audrey. However, if you see my Audrey as a Trans woman… that’s totally plausible!” She does see Audrey as a drag character, “whether a cis woman is playing her or not,” and this informed her performance. “I use my life experiences and that knowledge to inform this character,” she explained, “but at the end of the day, I’m not thinking about Audrey’s genitals. I’m thinking about who the character is and how she fits into this story.”

Monsoon said to Cosmopolitan that, as an artist, her mission statement “is to teach everyone who loves theater that what’s between an actor’s legs shouldn’t matter in regard to how well they can play a role.”

Monsoon will return to Chicago in June, and will star as a new villain in Doctor Who this May.

Fat Ham brings Queer Black joy to Hamlet

BY ALICE BLOCH

SGN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

FAT HAM by James

Ijames

Seattle Rep

Bagley Wright Hall, Seattle Center

Modern reinterpretations of William Shakespeare’s plays always make me apprehensive. So much can go wrong, and no one can hope to improve on these works of genius. James Ijames’s Fat Ham, a brilliant comedic reinterpretation of Hamlet seen through the lens of Queer Black joy, is the exception; it’s every bit as thought provoking as the original, and a lot more fun. I think Shakespeare himself would have enjoyed seeing his themes and some of his words used in such an inventive, playful manner.

The Broadway production of Fat Ham won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. The current Seattle Rep production, directed by Timothy McCuen Piggee, ought to win something. It’s simply terrific in every respect: script, cast, choreography, and set and costume design.

The central question of Fat Ham isn’t “To be or not to be” but “What do we owe to our forebears?” The main character is a college student named Juicy, beautifully played by Taj E.M. Burroughs. Like Hamlet, he feels alienated from his family and uncertain about his life decisions. His abusive father, who tormented him for being “soft,” was murdered in prison a week earlier.

At the beginning of the play, Juicy and his good friend Tio (played with skill and humor by Chip Sherman) are halfheartedly setting up a backyard wedding reception for Juicy’s mother and uncle. In a genuinely frightening but funny moment, his father’s ghost leaps out of a shed, announces that his brother Rev (now Juicy’s stepfather) ordered his murder, and demands that Juicy take revenge.

Juicy is torn between the obligation he feels to carry out his father’s wishes and his desire to live without violence. When the wedding couple arrive with their friend Rabby (Felicia V. Loud) and her daughter Opal (Aishé Keita) and son Larry (Semaj Miller), whom Juicy has known since childhood, action and snappy dialogue move the plot along swiftly and provide some great entertainment. Everybody has a secret, and all secrets are revealed in time.

There’s a game of charades, some karaoke, and plenty of interpersonal dynamics going on. Larry, a straitlaced Marine, has a tender scene with Juicy, leading to a painful betrayal in which the latter, fed up with being the only identified Queer in the group, outs Larry. At this point, it seems that the trajectory of the play might lead to a stage

littered with bodies, as it is at the end of Hamlet. But potential tragedy turns back to comedy, as Juicy and his friends choose to live for pleasure rather than harm.

Different forms of manhood

As Juicy’s mother, Dedra D. Woods portrays the confusion of a woman drawn to one abusive man after another and struggling to accept her son’s softer form of manhood. Reginald André Jackson plays both of her husbands, who have similar personalities but different speaking voices. (Bravo to Jackson for pulling this off.)

Some of the play’s funny moments concern Juicy’s field of study: human resources. (Opal points out to him, “You’re not good with people.”) He takes some ribbing about his intellectual pursuits,

which include knowledge of Shakespeare, of course. When he quotes a couple of Hamlet’s soliloquies, his mother shakes her head and says, “You’ve been watching too much PBS.”

The final scene, a kind of disco epilogue, is quite spectacular — kudos to costume designer Ricky German and choreographer Jimmy Shields. At the performance I attended, the audience’s clapping in time to the music — some of us were even dancing in our seats — soon turned into a hearty, well-deserved ovation.

Performances continue through May 12. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://seattlerep.org.

ALEC WHITE COURTESY OF HERA

JINKX MONSOON IN LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS – EVAN ZIMMERMAN

TAJ E.M. BURROUGHS IN FAT HAM – BRONWEN HOUCK

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Seattle Erotic Arts Festival delivers stunning, cutting-edge showcase

BY MAC SCOTTY MCGREGOR SPECIAL TO THE SGN

The Seattle Erotic Arts Festival (SEAF) has had a rich history since its inception in 2003. It began with a need to create a place to celebrate, discuss, and support pieces rarely seen in mainstream galleries and museums, and a desire to showcase stunning erotic art. It made a lush environment for sexy people to enjoy unique work at an event that joyfully encouraged people to be as open and expressive as they felt comfortable.

Over the years, SEAF has become known for its commitment to showcasing cutting-edge artwork that pushes boundaries and sparks meaningful dialogue. It has provided emerging and established artists with a platform to explore sensuality, intimacy, and human connection innovatively. The festival has embraced inclusivity by featuring diverse perspectives and voices, including those from the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities, fostering a more inclusive and welcoming environment for attendees.

In 2008, the festival began to expand, moving to the historic Seattle Center Exhibition Hall beside the Space Needle. In 2019, it celebrated its first year at its year-round home, Gallery Erato, in downtown Seattle, and finally had somewhere to display the growing art collection all year.

The festival’s ongoing success and impact underscore its importance as a cultural institution that pushes boundaries, challenges norms, and fosters greater understanding and acceptance of human sexuality.

According to the SEAF mission statement, the festival “encourages the creation, enjoyment, and purchase of erotic art, sparking conversations to ignite personal and cultural evolutions.”

Big success

I attended my first SEAF in 2010. As someone who grew up in the South, I had no exposure to this type of freedom of expression and celebration of desire and sexuality. It expanded my world and helped alleviate the shame that I was taught to have around desire and curiosity about sex, eroticism, and expression. They call it “the sexpositive community” here in the Pacific Northwest, but coming from the Southern Baptist world I grew up in, I never thought I would see the words “sex” and “positive” in the same breath. How freeing it was, and is.

I asked Andrew Moran, the festival’s art curator, what stands out about this year’s festival, which was held on April 26–28. “Each year, people are experiencing this festival for the first time as attendees or new artists who submitted their work to be exhibited,” he said. “Seeing them navigate the openness, diversity, and acceptance helps them open and expand.”

SEAF was a big success again. A record 51% of all festival art was sold this year, and over 2,000 pieces were sold from the festival store. Through engaging, interactive exhibits, like “Unburden: What Labels Burden You?,” attendees examined what labels mean to their lives and learned how to unburden themselves. There was also a creative interactive rope-bondage exhibit with plants hanging off of a person suspended in the air from a pagoda. These pieces fostered introspection and growth and helped attendees examine their biases.

The festival presented all of this in a classy way and with consent — no one is asked to participate in anything without enthusiastic consent. Attendees could go and just quietly take in the art at their own pace, or decide to engage more.

This year, I took a tour with some of the literary artists who are in the 2024 SEAF anthology book, who wrote poems about certain pieces at this year’s festival that spoke to them in some way. It was lovely to get a glimpse into how the art spoke other writers as they read their poems.

The power of erotic art

Erotic art has the power to help people erase shame by challenging societal taboos, promoting self-acceptance, and fostering open dialogue about sexuality. Here are a few ways in which it accomplishes this:

• Normalizing human desire: Erotic art portrays sexuality and desire as natural and everyday aspects of the human experience. By depicting eroticism in various forms, it helps people recognize that others share their passions and that these are not something to be ashamed of.

• Celebrating diversity: Erotic art often celebrates the diversity of human bodies, desires, and experiences. By showcasing a wide range of expressions of sexuality, including LGBTQ+ perspectives, it helps to validate and normalize diverse identities and desires, reducing feelings of shame associated with not conforming to societal norms.

• Challenging stigma: Erotic art can challenge the stigma and shame surrounding certain sexual practices or identities by presenting them in a positive and affirming light. Portraying taboo subjects with respect and dignity helps to break down stereotypes and misconceptions, empowering people to embrace their authentic selves without shame.

• Creating safe spaces: Erotic art exhibitions and festivals provide safe and inclusive spaces for people to explore and engage with sexuality and eroticism free from judgment or censure. These environments encourage open dialogue and self-

expression, fostering a sense of community and acceptance that can help attendees overcome feelings of shame.

• Promoting self-expression: Engaging with erotic art can encourage attendees to explore and express their desires and fantasies more openly. By seeing their desires reflected in art, people may feel more comfortable embracing and expressing their sexuality, leading to greater self-acceptance and reduced shame.

Let’s dive a little deeper into how freedom of expression can profoundly impact a person’s life in several ways:

• Self-expression: Freedom of expression allows people to express their thoughts, opinions, and beliefs without fear of censorship or punishment. This ability to express oneself freely is crucial for personal development and self-fulfillment. It enables individuals to articulate their identities, share their unique perspectives, and contribute to public discourse.

• Empowerment: When people are free to express themselves, they feel empowered and more in control of their lives. They have the confidence to voice their concerns, advocate for their rights, and participate actively in shaping their communities and societies.

• Creativity and innovation: Freedom of expression fosters a culture of creativity and innovation. It encourages people to explore new ideas, challenge existing norms, and push boundaries in various fields such as art, literature, science, and technology. Without the fear of censorship or reprisal, people are likelier to experiment and innovate.

• Social and political change: Freedom of expression is fundamental to democracy and social progress. It enables citizens to engage in political discourse, criticize government policies, and advocate for change. Through freedom of expression, people

can raise awareness about social injustices, mobilize support for causes, and hold those in power accountable.

• Personal growth and learning: When people are free to express themselves, they are exposed to diverse perspectives and ideas. This exposure facilitates personal growth and intellectual development as they engage in debates, exchange viewpoints, and learn from one another.

• Emotional well-being: Being able to express one’s thoughts and feelings openly can positively affect mental and emotional well-being. Suppressing emotions or censoring oneself can lead to feelings of frustration, resentment, and isolation. Freedom of expression provides an outlet for authentic self-expression, which can promote emotional resilience and psychological health.

Freedom of expression is not just a legal or political concept; it’s a fundamental human right that profoundly shapes lives, societies, and the world.

Overall, erotic art plays a valuable role in challenging societal attitudes toward sexuality, promoting self-acceptance, and creating spaces where people can explore their desires without shame or judgment. We are lucky to have a large and successful erotic arts festival in Seattle that promotes diversity and selfexpression, challenges stigmas, normalizes human desires, creates safe spaces for all, and supports fantastic artists.

I encourage those of you who have never experienced SEAF to plan to attend next year and approach with a curiosity to learn, grow, and be open to new thoughts and experiences.

The 2025 SEAF call for art opens December 1, 2024; interactive elements and large-scale art will be solicited earlier in the fall. Learn more at https://www. seattleerotic.org.

MAC MCGREGOR

Kenzy Loevett (part of Megara), 31 - San Marino

Song: “11:11”

Loevett is the lead singer in the Spanish band Megara, which plays “fuchsia rock” (the color of some of her hair), a combination of electronic, dance, and rock. She also designs and sells clothes under the brand Coven.

Her relationship with actress Aria Bedmar lasted from 2009 to 2021, when they divorced after two years of marriage.

According to Wiwibloggs, the title of the “defiant banger” (with flamenco guitar in the bridge) refers to “the so-called ‘angel number.’ In numerology, it can refer to synchronicity — when the timing is right — and signal a spiritual awakening, self-awareness, and personal growth. It suggests that a soul is ready for new beginnings.”

Saba, 26 - Denmark

Song: “Sand”

Anna Saba Lykke Oehlenschlæger, who was adopted from Ethiopia, was a model and photographer before replacing her twin sister in Hair and turning her attention to music. She is public about having dealt with

bipolarity, making her an inspiring symbol of hope and perseverance.

She has been in same-sex relationships and, according to Eurovision.tv, is “proud to be the first brown, queer woman to sing for Denmark.”

Slimane, 34 - France

Slimane Nebchi, a French singer-songwriter with Algerian roots, went from the piano bars of Pigalle to winning The Voice (France) in 2016, leading to three #1 albums, sold-out arena tours, two billion worldwide streams, and seven million followers on social media. He is rumored to be Gay, and has been subject to racism and homophobia,

FILM

never got another release, not even on home video (or even streaming, now that the industry has twisted in that direction). Many of the venues themselves — the Harvard Market, the Neptune, the Guild 45th, etc. — are no longer with us in the same form.

But while so much has changed, including the addition of a virtual festival (to allow audiences to watch certain selections from the comfort of their own home) and the reduction of the festival schedule to 11 days instead of its traditional 25, the central mission remains the same: great films, diverse films, eclectic films from around the globe, all coming to Seattle at one time for audiences to enjoy at venues throughout the city and surrounding region.

What can be better than that?

I sat down with SIFF Artistic Director Beth Barrett to chat about this year’s event. Here are the edited transcripts of our conversation:

Sara Michelle Fetters: How are things going? We’re roughly two weeks out from the start of the festival. I’m betting that internal clock is ticking right about now.

Beth Barrett: Oh, yes. The clock absolutely ticking. [laughs] All of those things that we’re like, oh yeah, we’ve got weeks to do that. Now it’s like, oh no, it has to actually be done today. You have to do it today. We’re out of time.

SMF: Even so, I bet you’re ready to “get SIFFTY with it” right about now.

BB: Absolutely. [laughs]

SMF: We’ve chatted ephemerally in the past about how difficult it was going to be to put on a 50th anniversary celebration. Now we’re actually here. How difficult was it to program, plan, and put forth a celebration for a festival of this historical significance?

BB: It was both really hard and really easy. With the 11 days, we don’t have as many slots as we used to. One of my big concerns was how are we going to be able to celebrate all of the amazing films from the last 50 years, or at least some of them, while yet still presenting brand-new work and new directors. Starting in January, we’ve done three different sets of “50 Years of SIFF,” which have been audience favorites, jury winners, staff favorites, poll favorites, and films that really speak to what the festival is and what we’ve done for 50 years. We also have been working on our archive site, which is really, really exciting. We had all of our catalogs scanned, so you can flip through them and look at all the old…staff photos and be like, “I remember that! I remember that screening. I remember that event.”

although his private life is unknown. He has a baby daughter, but no information about his partner has been shared. His song, “Mon Amour,” is among the bookies’ top 10 favorites.

Watch the shows — and vote!

Malmö is hosting because Sweden’s (Bisexual) Loreen won last year’s contest. There are two semifinals (Tuesday, May 7 and Thursday, May 9), followed by the grand final on Saturday, May 11, all starting at noon Pacific time. All of them can be watched on the Eurovision YouTube Channel (if you have a VPN service set to a participating country) or on the Peacock

streaming service (live or on demand). For the second year, viewers all over the world may vote — on the Eurovision app or website —during the shows (and new this year: also for the 24 hours before the grand final, for those of us in nonparticipating countries). See https://eurovision.tv/vote for more details.

See all of this year’s songs at https://bit. ly/3Us8S3L (including a short roundup of all 37). You can learn more about all the participants and songs at https://eurovision. tv/event/malmo-2024/participants. Scorecards can be found at https:// eurovisionworld.com/tag/scorecard.

How do you actually go about doing an archive? That’s been an incredible amount of work. It’s been a really interesting project, but it’s going to be just the beginning. That’s the great thing about turning 50 — that things don’t end when you turn 50. They just keep going, and you can build on them and make things more interesting and better.

So then, how do you program for a 50th, but using current films? The way that we’ve done that is really lean into all the things that make SIFF, well, SIFF, which is the immense amount of international representation that we have. We’re representing films coming from 84 different countries and regions around the world. We really lean into new voices and films you can’t find anywhere else. More than 60% [of selections] don’t have US distribution or are from firstand second-time filmmakers. That’s what SIFF has always been known for. In looking at this year and then the next 50, how do we bring those filmmakers to Seattle? How do we bring those visions and those stories to then build on for the next 50 years? That remains the mission.

SMF: I don’t know how it will necessarily affect you, but I will say that from a personal standpoint, when I was informed that the Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington was doing a 50th anniversary retrospective on the Seattle Gay News, I had to see it. I was not anticipating how emotional that would be to see that special display in a setting like Suzzallo. I did not realize how it would hit me.

When the SIFF archive site goes live, I’m going to assume, even though you’ve done all this work on it and you’re being informed as to what it’s taken for things to go live, that it’s going to be pretty emotional, especially considering how much of your professional life you’ve spent working with SIFF.

BB: I think it’s going to bring up a lot of

things. [Festival Programming Manager]

Stan Shields and I were trying to figure out what year he started, and so we pulled out the 2006 guide. Maybe it was 2007… But we pulled out the catalog and, flipping through it, we got to the staff list and the staff photo and it was like, I haven’t thought about some of those folks in well, nearly 20 years. It was so emotional. I couldn’t help but wonder where they all are now. It brought back a lot of good and hard memories, because working on those festivals, it’s a lot. It’s always a lot. It’s hard work. But also, there’s a lot of pride in what we accomplished… what we were able to build on a year-round basis, the seeds were planted there. Where we are now, that was the idea then. Our six screens, our 365-day programming. We knew we could get there. A little bit of archival here, a little brandnew thing here, a little mini festival, a little documentary, a big raunchy comedy. Everything that film does and that film speaks to audiences about, we do over the span of our six screens every day of the year.

SMF: Even with only 11 days instead of the old 25-day schedule, it really feels like this is the first festival post-COVID where we have visitors on a continual basis. Would you agree with that?

BB: Yeah. It does feel that way. But it did last year, too. Last year, we were still building, coming out of things [COVID].

It’s interesting, though. We actually have about the same number of guests coming in over the 11 days this year than we had over the old 25. But because … they’ll be here for three or four of 11 days, it’s very different than three or four of 25 days. There’s so much more of a concentration, and it’s really led to some great things, like with filmmakers meeting each other, being able to get to know each other, and for audiences to be able to have experience after experience after experience that they won’t typically have anywhere else.

In the before times, we would very often have a couple of days where we had no guests. There was nobody in town. Now, there are none of those days, and there are some days where every screening or almost every screening at the SIFF Uptown has a guest.

But that’s our mission. To create those experiences that bring people together around film. By keeping the filmmaker and audience connection [foremost], we’re about to facilitate those unique experiences. It’s exciting.

SMF: Diving into the schedule and making sure that you have everything running as smoothly as possible, I wanted to pick your brain as to how much interaction is there between SIFF and the other film organizations

and their festivals that traditionally also happen at this time of year. The last weekend of April, we have NFFTY and the Seattle Black Film Festival, and then the Translations: the Transgender Film Festival historically has been about the same time as where SIFF is this year. (They’ve moved to June instead this year.)

I’m wondering, what is the community interaction to make certain that everybody gets their spot on the calendar and that nobody loses their momentum?

BB: That’s a great question. As festivals, we talk, and here in Seattle, it starts with the Asian American Film Festival in February/March. We’ll touch base in January and say, “Are there films that you all are going after that we should just not even look for?” And the same with the Jewish Film Festival in March, because that’s our big deciding time. It becomes a little more complex with the Black Film Festival, because their deciding time is a little bit after ours, but we’re in great conversation. “Hey, we invited this film. Do you need a link? How can we work together and make sure that films are getting seen and getting their audiences?”

NFFTY is slightly different, because it really only overlaps with our short film program for FutureWave. But we often have a film that shows in NFFTY that also ends up in the FutureWave short film program for young filmmakers under 18.

The great thing, I think, about Seattle and the film festival community is that we’re very communicative. We had a big meeting in January where everyone was able to interact and get to know each other. We’ll have another big meeting in June where everyone is like, “That was wild! How can we support the fall festivals now, because winter and spring are done? How can we support the summer and fall festivals?”

It’s a really interesting landscape. There’s obviously competition, because there are only a certain number of big films in a certain genre or from a certain community, so there is some competition. But overall? It’s incredibly collaborative.

SMF: I don’t know if this was part of that collaboration, but one of the things that I noticed when I was previewing NFFTY is that Sean Wang is teaching a forum for NFFTY. Then you’ve got his narrative debut, Dìdi, at SIFF. How cool is that?

BB: I know, right? It’s so cool! We had Sean’s narrative short last year, which won the jury award, and then he’s going to be at NFFTY, and that’s great.

BETH BARRETT – SIFF

KENZY – ANA MARKEZ SABA – WILLIAM GREEN

SLIMANE – ISMAEL NEBCHI SEE SIFF PAGE 16

I think it really points out, one, his talent because, man, is he on a serious trajectory — just a very talented director. But two, that sort of collaborativeness, we all just really want to support these filmmakers while they are growing. And the way that Seattle can support these filmmakers is with audiences, it is in connecting them to those people that want to see their films.

SMF: Let’s dive into the festival. Northwest Connections, cINeDIGENOUS — I’m in love with your picks. Every program is probably difficult to program, but it does feel like there is a special focus this year on Indigenous filmmakers. How much fun was it to program these programs?

BB: Northwest Connections is a hard section to program, because there’s so many great films, and we’re always going to end up saying no to people that we know personally or that we’ve worked with before, because we can only show so many of them. But we really want to get a crosssection of the kind of work that is going on in Seattle. We’ve got a really strong documentary set this year, and it’s always great being able to focus in on showcasing all of those different parts of Seattle that are working and that are making films.

Fish War is an interesting crossover title between our cINeDIGENOUS program programming. cINeDIGENOUS is led by Tracy Rector, and it is incredibly strong. We’re so blessed to have her on the team. It’s actually one of the biggest Indigenous programs in a festival in North America. imagineNATIVE in Canada is bigger and is beautiful. But for us, it’s a real way to bring those stories into the spotlight, both with the cINeDIGENOUS program and with Northwest Connections. We’re able to elevate some of those films that maybe wouldn’t find that national stage or get the attention of industry members and other filmmakers from around the world.

SMF: On the flip side, how do you balance bringing in bigger films or some of the more notable titles from Sundance that are going to be getting a general theatrical release with all the other titles you program? Or films that may be playing theatrically here in Seattle almost immediately right after they have their SIFF premiere?

BB: Like the very week after, sometimes.

SMF: Exactly. I mean, I just watched Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist the other day, because it’s opening in New York and LA on May 3. Its SIFF screenings are on May 10 and 11, and then it opens in general release right after the conclusion of the festival.

BB: One of the big balances that we need to do is bringing in audiences while yet introducing them to new work. Introducing people to new work is easier when they recognize some films that they want to see and then they’re like, “I want to see I Saw the TV Glow Oh, wait. This WTF section has this crazy film called Killing Romance? What is that? Like a South Korean comedy or musical? That sounds cool.” We definitely use some of those bigger titles as — it sounds terrible to say — but sort of a gateway drug of like, you really want to see the new Hamaguchi, but our Asian Crossroads section has a very deep, deep look at what else is going on in Asian film. Let’s find something interesting there? Plus, we love those films, and we really want to show them to our audiences. We really want to be able to showcase them. But it is that balance of how you look at how you see your festival. We are first and foremost — always have been, always will be — an “audience festival” that is programmed … for the people. It’s a very populist way of programming in terms of trying to use interest in known titles to introduce audiences to titles they otherwise might not take a chance on.

SMF: Your opening night film, Thelma, balances those aspirations in

FILM

that it’s a little bit lesser-known as far as the big Sundance films were concerned, and yet still offers up a pretty big, audience-friendly bang for the buck.

BB: June Squibb. Richard Roundtree. How can you not get excited? It’s so good. Such a great comedy.

I mean, it has a serious part to it, which is this scam that is happening around the world in which scammers are calling up older people pretending to be their grandchildren and getting money from them. That’s a very serious thing, and there are very serious moments in this as we look at what happens with our own parents or our own aging relatives and how we interact with them as younger people. Then when does it happen to us?

But at the same time, June Squibb has such great comedic timing, and then you pair her with Clark Gregg, and Parker Posey, and Richard Roundtree. It’s a revelation.

And the fact that this is her first leading role after being in the industry for 60 years! One, that’s appalling, but two, she couldn’t be a better leading actress for this film. She’s the grandma you want to put your arms around and go, “Please, don’t send that money.” [laughs]

SMF: Two of my favorite SIFF memories are seeing Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Battle Royale at the Cinerama.

BB: Wow. Those are good ones.

SMF: I guess I’m probably one of a very scant handful of people that can say they watched those two very different movies at the Cinerama (now SIFF Cinema Downtown).

How much fun was it to program the SIFF Cinema Downtown for two weeks and realize you could put a documentary followed by a first-person POV slasher there? Did you get excited about knocking an audiences’ socks off by showcasing such a wide variety of features at Seattle’s preeminent cinematic venue?

BB: We really thought about what we were putting there in terms of what is going to need the biggest screen possible. We then made sure it was there. It is going to be very interesting to see people interact with some of the titles. I think it’s going to be fun. I can’t wait to see some of these films. Songs of Earth on the biggest screen possible is going to be transcendent.

SMF: And, I mean, we haven’t even spoken about the few archival selections in this year’s festival, and you’ve programmed the 4K restoration of…

BB: Wings of Desire. Yep. Wim Wenders’s masterpiece on that gigantic screen. It’s not a bad archival to put at the SIFF Cinema Downtown. Not a bad one at all.

SMF: I do wonder, your closing night

film Sing Sing is on a Saturday, but then you have a whole full program of Sunday films. How does that work?

BB: They’re all repeat films [on Sunday]. They’re all second screenings of titles. I don’t know who said it, but I heard a quote yesterday that at 50, SIFF has finally discovered school night, and having the party be on Saturday night, not on Sunday night, is the way to go. [laughs] It is hard to go to a party that starts at 8:30 at night on Sunday. By moving the party to Saturday night, we can have a full set of screenings, second screenings, of lots of different films that you can catch up on. Then at midnight, we start with the virtual part of the festival. Great, right?

SMF: For those who may not know the lore around how this is SIFF’s 50th anniversary — because the first one was in 1976 — and are sitting at home doing math and likely scratching their head, do you want to explain how that works out?

BB: Yeah. Hashtag “great at films, bad at math.” [laughs]

Unlike human beings, events start at one. You have your first annual, then your second annual, third annual, blah, blah, blah. Unlike humans, which start at zero and then become one a year later.

That’s one missing year. The other missing year is that Daryl McDonald and Dan Ireland, our co-founders, they were deeply superstitious. So, one year we had a 12th annual and then the very next year we had a 14th annual. We just never had a 13th annual. There’s your two missing years.

SMF: Backtracking a little. For me personally, when I went to go look at that anniversary exhibit at the UW regarding the SGN, it hit me like a ton of bricks that I’ve spent a third of my life, and a third of the publication’s very existence, writing for it. You can say the same about working for SIFF.

BB: Almost half the life of the organization. This will be my 22nd festival.

I have a great job. I watch movies and talk about movies and think about movies and program movies for a living. It is an incredible honor to be able to do that and to be able to talk to people about what films they like and don’t like, because I hear about both equally.

The great thing about something like SIFF is that there is something there for everyone, but not all of everything is there for everyone. It is able to be the festival that you want it to be that will reflect your particular interests, that will reflect things that you want to know or things that you want to learn about. It’s a festival where you can be like, yep, I am going to go see that film, because that scares me. I want to get outside my comfort zone.

But you can also be like, I do not want to know about that, so I’m skipping that film. Or, I really don’t like that director, so let’s see what else there is to see?

And all of that is fine, because there is an audience for every film. To be able to weave that tapestry together for 20-some years and to really bring it all to Seattle and make sure that people have access to the festival, that’s amazing.

It’s not hard to get a ticket. You can go online right now. It’s just like going to the AMC. But with SIFF, you get to see these amazing films from around the world. Not just during the festival but all year round.

SMF: As part of that, if you were to give a person advice on how to begin their SIFFTY journey, what would that be?

BB: I would do it one of two ways. I would find a film that you think sounds interesting and go see that, but then I would also see the one before or after. Make it a double feature. Or, I would say, “I have two nights free and I live in Capitol Hill. I’m going to go see what’s at the Egyptian.” I’d make a full day or evening — or both! — out of it.

SMF: We love to celebrate the history. We love to be able to sit there and say that SIFF is 50 years old. But the reality is we want to see SIFF thrive for another 50 years. What’s next? Where do we go in the next half-century?

BB: I love that question. I think that a lot of what is next has to do with the cinema and with how we continue to bring people back into arts and cultural events, to see movies, to be in community, to continue to be adventurous in what they come see and what they watch and talk to people about. I think we all have to relearn how to do that after COVID. But it’s crucial that we do so, and we have to relearn it, because if we don’t, I think the culture stands to suffer quite a bit. We’re just doing what we can to make sure that there is a safe landing place for people that need it. SIFF will be here.

SMF: And that’s the stuff that keeps you excited and gets you coming back to work every morning?

BB: Absolutely. Oh, yeah. It’s the only reason I come to work every morning. What can we do today? What can we do now? What can we do next? That’s thrilling. Those are great reasons to come back to work every day.

The “50th annual” Seattle International Film Festival runs May 9 thru May 19, with screenings and events at venues throughout the city. A full calendar of events, plus ticket and full-series pass information can be found at https://www. siff.net.

THELMA – MAGNOLIA PICTURES

Feisty Challengers serves up a winning volley of competitive melodramatic excess

BY SARA MICHELLE FETTERS SGN STAFF WRITER

CHALLENGERS

Theaters

There’s a great moment in Challengers that’s like something out of a Looney Tunes cartoon crossed with a 1940s Bette Davis melodrama. Former best friends and tennis doubles partners Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) — facing off in the finale of a US Open challenger tournament — are in the middle of a heated point. The camera starts with a wide shot showing both players batting the ball back and forth, and in the background are the grandstands full of people excitedly watching the action.

Slowly, director Luca Guadagnino and cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom begin to zoom in, focusing on that audience. Everyone’s heads zip back and forth, the loud thwack! of the ball signaling each player’s powerful hit. But as we inch closer, we notice that the person in the center does not follow along. Art’s wife and coach Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) — a former superstar player whose career was cut short by injury — angrily stares straight into the camera, and even

behind her dark designer sunglasses, we can see the Machiavellian wheels turning inside her head as she ponders whether or not her best-laid plans will bear fruit.

There are layers within layers to Guadagnino and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes’s explosive, adrenaline-filled character study, bending backward and forward through time as it intimately examines this crazy, messed-up love triangle. It is a sweltering examination of determination, commitment, competition, friendship, betrayal, and athletics, each swat of a tennis racket signifying a new turn in the proceedings that could have devastating consequences for Tashi, Art, or Patrick (or all of the above), depending on how well the metaphorical ball has been struck.

It’s also sexy as hell. The threesome ignites the screen with their chemistry. Their meet-cute at a US Open party (the night before amateur doubles champions Art and Patrick are supposed to meet in the singles final) is a seductively whimsical treat. Things move from there to a hotel room shared by the two friends, and it’s instantly apparent how easily Tashi can bend both guys to her whims. She toys with them like a cat playfully pawing at a mouse, and the only question is when she’ll

quit teasing, extend her claws, and start drawing blood.

From there we move all over the court. There are snippets of Tashi and Art’s playing days on the Stanford tennis team. There are visits from Patrick, his professional career having its fair share of ups and downs. Suddenly were thrust forward postTashi’s injury, when she and Art are now married with a daughter, and his professional career — only needing that darned title to complete the Grand Slam! — inching closer to a conclusion. As for Patrick, he’s out of their lives (and almost out of tennis), the former top-ten player relegated to participating in one challenger tournament after another in hopes of maybe, just maybe, qualifying for another major.

It is at one of those minor events where the three are unceremoniously thrust back together. Art has been struggling, so Tashi pulls some strings to get him into a small tune-up tournament a week before the US Open, neither of them having the first clue Patrick would also be competing. Now the two men are in the final, and all of the dramatics that have pushed them apart and placed Tashi angrily between them for over a decade are just fuel for the competitive fire burning up the court they’re playing on.

Don’t try and make sense out of any of this. These people are a conjoined mass of contradictions, and although one second a person could be forgiven for thinking that Tashi is the villain, a scene later Patrick does something unforgivable or Art performs a selfish act of subterfuge that causes a reevaluation of who is who and what is what. Their lives are all equally messy. Each loves. Each hates. Each has big dreams, and all have had some of them tragically crushed one way or another. As much as I love it when Guadagnino shakes things up with bloodily metaphorical horror-drama-romance hybrids like Bones and All and his Suspiria remake, I think I adore the director most when he gets his melodramatic beast on and channels his inner Douglas Sirk or Luchino Visconti. I Am Love, A Bigger Splash, Call Me by Your Name — these are wet, gloopy, sensuous delights. You can feel Guadagnino’s glee in how he brings actors like Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, or Timothée Chalamet to sweaty, sun-drenched life.

With Challengers, he has three titans to toy with, and Faist, O’Connor, and Zendaya (delivering the best performance of her still young career, even topping her spellbinding turn in Dune: Part Two) are all willing to do whatever is asked of them. They are a fierce and feisty triumvirate. Sometimes comedic, in other moments withdrawn and sullen, each digs into their respective character with tenacity and relish. They fly through an avalanche of emotional nuances with the bat of an eyelash, each actor making the sort of indelible impression. It’s impossible to imagine that this film would have been even remotely as successful without all of them.

Mukdeeprom, working with Guadagnino for a third time, moves his camera as it were a tennis ball and generates a visually blissful whirligig that matches the interior complexities of the characters with beauteous precision. Editor Marco Costa (Bones and All) cuts it all together with similar and purposefully bewildering relish, and there were moments I almost wondered if things were getting too frenetic and pondered what might happen if Guadagnino had allowed his technical team to tone things down. And don’t even get me started on the rapturously unhinged score by Oscar-winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Soul, The Social Network). It’s magnificent.

Guadagnino has made several outstanding motion pictures. I’ve pretty much loved them all. But Challengers is something truly special. I’m going to cherish this one for a very long time. Here’s hoping ticketbuying audiences feel the same. CHALLENGERS

BOOKS

Annie on My Mind , the

#44

most banned book in the US

Spoiler: it’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever read

BY CLAR HART SGN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ANNIE ON MY MIND

Nancy Garden

© 1992 Nancy Garden

$11.99

272 pages

Content warning: Homophobia

Annie on My Mind was publicly burned by Christian evangelists in Kansas City — which is a ragingly good review for a book if I’ve ever heard one. It’s sweet, it’s cute, it’s an utterly milquetoast story about two teens falling in love — and it’s #44 on the list of the most banned books in the US.

In summary, Liza is a high school senior, class president, and an aspiring architect who meets Annie, a senior from a different school, at a museum. They play goofy jokes on each other, have picnics, and steal some of their parents’ wine. When two teachers go on a holiday together, they cat-sit for them and make out. Another teacher, Ms. Baxter, barges in upon hearing that two teenage girls are spending the night together. Because they’re both underdressed (even though it’s the middle of the night), Ms. Baxter declares them to be committing crimes against God and demands that the school expel Liza. Sher also demands that the school send a

letter to MIT, where Liza has been accepted, that would tell them Liza is a Lesbian. It’s the 1980s, so everyone goes along with it.

The school calls a special hearing, Liza’s parents are advised to get an attorney, and Liza has to declare exactly how far her tongue went down Annie’s throat to a board of middle-aged trustees.

Thankfully, at this point, one of the trustees declares the whole thing absurd and dismisses Liza and her parents. Unfortunately, the teachers who Liza and Annie had been cat-sitting for are fired for sharing one bed and being a “bad” (Queer) influence on the students.

The ending is, thankfully, happy. Written in 1982, it’s the first Gay YA ending that is. Liza is at college and at first can’t bear to respond to Annie’s letters, but after a few months decides to call her. They reconcile and arrange to go home over Christmas break together. The two teachers are fired, but Annie and Liza go to see them one last time. The teachers say that they’re happily retiring to the countryside to paint and garden (just like the protagonists in Patience and Sarah, one of their Sapphic bedside books).

What Annie on My Mind captures so accurately is the goofiness of young, reckless love. The two leads play-act in a museum, pretend to be various Arthurian characters, and grow to feel comfortable being ridiculous around each other. It’s also — for all the other Queer books from this period and even contemporarily — surprisingly funny. A girl in Liza’s class, Zelda, after finding out about Liza and Annie, very seriously asks Liza’s opinion on this very important question (since she plans to be a doctor): what do two women actually do in bed?

It also very carefully balances the prickly space of Liza’s liberal parents. They don’t

hate homosexuals per se; Liza’s mom quickly assures her that she, too, had feelings for a girl and kissed a bit — but nothing happened. It was just a phase. Liza’s father, although he says it shouldn’t matter what people do on their own time, defends the teachers’ firing, and that he thought he accepted homosexuality — until it was his own daughter who was one. He also tells her that he’ll accept her, but being Gay is just so much harder. She’d be so much happier with a husband and a family. And he wants her to be happy, that’s all.

It’s a sweet, cute book about a sweet, cute love story. The most remarkable thing about it is that it is remarkable. That it was burned, that it was banned, that people frothed at the mouth at two girls living their lives. That’s what I appreciated most about it: the reminder that the cost of something like this, a tiny piece of tender normalcy, can be so dear.

There is one part of Annie on My Mind that I’m particularly reminded of, and that’s The Dictionary Moment. It’s happened here and in countless of the other Lesbian canon books: the time when a questioning Queer asks, “Is this a thing I can be? Have other people felt like this? Are there others like me?” So, pre-Google, pre-internet, they turn to that old reliable: motherfucking Merriam-Webster. So I would like to shout out to that underappreciated M&W duo, affirming Queer existence since 1909.

Zoë Bossiere goes from Cactus Country to a bookstore near you with debut memoir

BY LINDSEY ANDERSON SGN STAFF WRITER

Zoë Bossiere never thought they’d grow up to be a writer, partially because they could never imagine themself growing up. Everything changed in college, however, when they fell in love with the page.

“I discovered creative writing as a field of study back when I was an undergraduate at the University of Arizona,” they said in an interview with the SGN. Creative writing became an outlet in which Bossiere — a former trailer park kid — finally felt they belonged in the world of academia.

As they got more into creative writing, Bossier discovered a subset of the practice: creative nonfiction writing. “After taking a creative nonfiction class, I realized that I hadn’t been writing fiction at all, but a thinly veiled memoir. So from that point on, I took the fiction elements out of my work and wrote nonfiction exclusively,” they said.

Eventually, they realized they had a story to tell — one of a boy growing up in Cactus Country, a desert trailer park community that became the book’s title. “I knew it had to be a memoir. In my mind, there was no other way to tell it,” they said.

Through stories about their childhood — a time when Bossiere, who is Nonbinary, identified as a boy — they were able to come to terms with their Trans identity and begin to process some of the trauma they encountered growing up.

Cactus Country is a beautiful and gutwrenching memoir that shows readers what childhood is like through the eyes of a Trans kid. While it doesn’t speak for all Trans experiences, it gives voice to one through gorgeous prose.

A story that had to be told Writing a memoir, especially one about such personal topics, can be gutting. “To reflect on your life is to live it twice — or, in the case of writing a memoir, to live it

over and over again with each new draft,” Bossiere said.

“Some of the stories in Cactus Country’s later chapters were particularly difficult for me to tell, because they contained traumatic events that I hadn’t properly worked through before sitting down to write about them. It didn’t help that much of this writing took place during the peak of the pandemic, when I was socially isolated from my usual support network of family and friends.”

Throughout the process, Bossiere worked with a trauma writing specialist and a counselor, and received a grant from their university’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department. “I don’t know that I would have been able to write about certain things — and certainly not in as much depth — without those supports in place,” they said.

“Now, on the other side of that process, I feel more at peace about what happened, and I’m able to speak about the events depicted in Cactus Country publicly in ways I never could before, which is a great feeling.”

Though revisiting some of their most traumatic experiences was incredibly difficult for Bossiere at times, they knew their story had to be told. “When I was a boy living in a trailer park way out in the Sonoran Desert, I couldn’t picture myself as an adult — what I might look like or where I might go,” they said. “I mean this in a very literal sense. I’d never met another Trans person. I didn’t see myself in the characters on the TV shows I watched, or the music I listened to, or the books I read.

“The persistent thought that there might not be a future for someone like me was

so terrifying and isolating that I spent a lot of time searching for a story that felt like it was written for kids like me, whose feelings about their gender didn’t line up with their assigned gender at birth. I searched everywhere I could think to look, because I wanted to know how a story like mine would end. But I never found one.”

Combating disinformation

While Trans kids today may have more on-page representation than Bossiere saw in the late ’90s and early 2000s, there still isn’t enough.

“Writing Cactus Country taught me so much, not just about my gender journey but about the Transgender spectrum more broadly,” they said. “Trans culture is not the monolith that it was portrayed as in the ’90s and ’00s media. Today, Trans kids face more than the unknown — they have to wake up and continue to survive in a country where a growing cultural and political movement fueled by disinformation continues to target their existence. Telling stories in service of expanding the collective understanding of who and what Trans people are and are not is one way to combat that kind of disinformation.

“When I started writing Cactus Country, I wanted to tell the story the boy I was had been searching for. My hope now is for the book to reach readers who are also looking for a story like theirs, about the nuanced, often fluid complexities of gender and identity. At its best, I hope Cactus Country will help folks who have the same kinds of questions I did about who they are get one step closer to finding those answers.”

Cactus Country will hit shelves on May 21, 2024. In the meantime, readers can find more of Bossiere’s work in their online literary journal, Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction. This year’s special issue features exclusively Trans and gendernonconforming writers, including Seattle’s own Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore.

ZOË BOSSIERE – ANNALEE ALTAVILLA ABRAMS

FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX