SGN March 5, 2010 - Section 1

Celebrating 37 Years!

Issue 10 Volume 38

CENTURY BALLROOM p. 8

little boots p. 25 jewish film fest p. 29

Seattle Gay News

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SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

ENDA Now forum Supreme Court refuses to on LGBT justice stop D.C. marriage equality listens to community Licenses now being issued, marriages start March 9 shaun knittel

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer

nization Pride At Work, held an Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) forum at the Seattle On March 2, Seattle OUTProtest Labor Temple. Upwards of 70 – a coalition of organizations and people participated in the event individuals committed to fighting for equality for the LGBT community – and LGBT labor orgasee enda page 19

The U.S. Supreme Court announced late on March 2 that it would not prevent the new Washington, D.C. marriage equality law from going into effect, and D.C. authorities began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on March 3.

By noon on March 3, more than 100 couples had applied for licenses. A spokesperson for the D.C. Marriage Bureau told reporters they normally process 10 to 12 applications a day.

Couples who obtained licenses on March 3 may marry on Tuesday, March 9.

Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington DC – a vocal opponent of the new marriage law – announced that its Catholic Charities would no longer provide spousal benefits to any employees so that it would not have to see D.C. marriage page 20

Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press

Mike Andrew, Su Docekal, and Marcy Johnsen

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Sinjoyla Townsend (l) and her partner Angelisa Young are the first samesex couple to obtain a marriage license in Washington, D.C.

Half-million sign petition Night FantAsia against Ugandan anti-Gay bill celebrates 11 years JONATHAN MATHEWS

Stephen Wandera

( l to r ) Bishop Christopher Ssenyonjo, Canon Rev. Gideon Byamugisha, Frank Mugisha and Major (retired) Rubaramira Ruranga presented the petition to parliament

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer An online petition urging Uganda’s parliament to withdraw its notorious Anti-Homosexual Bill was presented to the Ugandan government on March 1, activists say.

The petition, which has collected at least a half-million signatures so far, says:

“To President Museveni of Uganda, Members of the Review Committee, and donor governments: “We stand with citizens across Uganda who are calling on their government to withdraw the AntiHomosexual Bill, and to protect the universal human rights embodied in the Ugandan constitution.

We urge Uganda’s leaders and

Aleksa Manila was host of Night FantAsia on February 27

donors to join us in rejecting persecution and upholding values of by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer justice and tolerance.”

The petition campaign was orNight FantAsia’s 2010 ganized by Avaaz.org, an internaFebruary 27 tional online activist organization Nijo Bar and Grill that advocates for human rights, On February 27, Erik Bjarne religious tolerance, and environWitzoe, a graphic media and event mental responsibility. designer, and Jonathan Mathews, see uganda page 16 owner of Kwanchai design group,

proud to Be Different

We are conveniently located on-site at Lifelong AIDS Alliance below the Thrift Store.

celebrated 11 years of Night FantAsia, a celebration of the Seattle LGBT Asian community.

“There is so much diversity within the LGBT community, and that includes ethnic diversity,” Mathews told SGN. “Fortunately, we live in one of the few countries see fantasia page 19

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Seattle Gay News

March 5, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

March 5, 2010

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Generously running interference

by Leslie Robinson SGN Contributing Writer

For the first time, the Navy will let women serve on submarines.

Personally, I’d sooner serve on a garbage barge than spend months trapped underwater, but I’m sure the idea appeals to some.

Submarines are the only class of ship from which women have been barred, so this is a significant change both practically and symbolically. Female sailors will face no impediments – unless they suffer from both claustrophobia and seasickness, like I do, in which case their service should be on terra firma.

According to The Seattle Times, Congress can block the change. If it doesn’t, the new policy could be in effect by mid-April.

Those in the know say lawmakers probably won’t halt the shift. Why would the prospect of women squeezed together with men for months at a time not agitate socially conservative Congressmen?

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

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

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

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

And please play safe.

It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your subscription or ad. However, credit towards any size ad will be given for the balance owed. No exceptions.

Guess. C’mon, just try. One guess.

“Many Republicans, who would be the most likely opponents, are working to preserve the ban on Gays serving openly in the military and aren’t likely to expend time and effort on the issue of female service members in submarines,” said the newspaper.

Congressmen will forego fretting over men and women packed together like sardines because they have bigger, less salty, fish to fry.

They perceive Gays as the greater threat.

We’re at the top of their hierarchy of fears.

Women have been serving in the military long enough that people have gotten used to it, so on the fear hierarchy, women in uniform rank somewhere between Al Gore and hip-hop.

Bottom line: Women will sneak in because Gays are running interference for them.

I’m fine with this. I want to see women advance. In fact, we could use our power for good in other arenas besides the military.

Consider the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI is all about defending traditional doctrine. Many Gay Catholics continue to call for an end to Rome’s official homopho-

bia. I think we should try something new in addition. We could do a deal with the Pope.

Promise him that we won’t tell the world how very many American priests are Gay if he will let women be priests.

Or we could get every Gay priest to come out. Then he’d be obliged to fire them, which would mean untended sheep wandering and sampling different grazing fields from coast to coast. The Pope would have to turn to women to round up his flock. These female priests would forever be known as the Sisters of Bo Peep.

That’s how we exploit fear to gain advancement for our friends. We marshal the dislike for us, a distinct negative, into something positive. We’ll be one part Machiavelli, one part Pollyanna.

Sticking with religion, the Episcopal Church is still smarting over the issue of openly Gay bishops. Some of the churches that have split away also take the view that women shouldn’t be priests. Time for an arrangement: They change their sexist tune in exchange for no more openly Gay bishops.

For a while. Eventually the women we’ve helped will see that we get ours, too – in a Christian, do-unto-others sort of way.

Turning to politics, now that I think about it, the ascension of African-American Michael Steele to the top spot in the Republican Party might not have been an effort to match Barack Obama. Perhaps he got the gig so a Log Cabin Republican wouldn’t. You read it here first.

I think fixing the health care system is so important I’m trying to figure out how we could run interference. Do you have any ideas for how we can leverage the fear and loathing of assorted Congressmen? Maybe use DOMA somehow. Or threaten a gigantic kiss-in in the Capitol Rotunda.

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

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Seattle Gay News

March 5, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

janice Gutman

International Women’s Day March 2000

Seattle International Women’s Day 2010

by Tina Gianoulis Special to the SGN

International Women’s Day March and Rally March 6 Powell Barnett Park The year 2010 marks at least two important anniversaries in the modern struggle for women’s rights: the 100th official year of International Women’s Day and the 10th anniversary of the World March of Women 2000. While both of these landmarks offer something to celebrate in terms of women working together to improve the conditions of their lives, they also both serve as reminders of the continuing and often repetitive work that remains to be done in the fight for equality and justice.

The early 1900s were a period of political and economic turmoil. Technological advances were transforming society on every level, and not always to the advantage of the average worker. Embattled unions struggled to combat threats to working people from a rapidly industrializing economy and an uncaring ruling class. Women fought for the most basic political rights and control over their own reproductive systems – even for the right to be considered a person under the law.

International Women’s Day was born out of the picket lines of striking garment workers and the unrelenting vigils of suffragists demanding the vote (not won until 1920).

Activists staged Women’s Day demonstrations in U.S. cities in 1908 and 1909, and in 1910, the International Conference of So-

their bodies, and endless war and a heavily militarized society are increasingly accepted as inevitable.

In this precarious climate, two paths of response emerge: despair or fight back. And in keeping with a long Seattle tradition of radicalism and resistance, local activists have chosen to fight back. Joining the call of the World March of Women for the “globalization of solidarity” and joining a century of women marching for human rights and justice, a broad coalition of women from many different Seattle communities has worked together to plan two important events for International Women’s Day, a march and rally on March 6, and a community celebration on March 8.

Organizers invite all who want to join in to gather at noon on Saturday, March 6 at Powell Barnett Park (Martin Luther King Way and S. Alder St.) and proceed down S. Jackson St. to a rally in Pioneer Square’s Occidental Park (Occidental Ave. S. and S. Main St.). On the way, marchers will stop at a number of sites that highlight Seattle’s direct connection to the issues at the heart of the World March of Women’s international protests.

cialist Women in Copenhagen, Denmark, declared March 8 an annual International Women’s Day. Feminists continue to mark the day with demonstrations and other events around the world.

It was on International Women’s Day in 2000 that the World March of Women launched their global response to the increasing poverty and the marginalization of women in almost every nation. Initiated by the Federation des Femmes in Quebec, the World March of Women coordinated demonstrations in dozens of countries, demanding an end to poverty and violence against women. These worldwide actions culminated in an international march in New York City where more than 8,000 women from around the world presented their demands to the United Nations.

The World March of Women has renewed their call to action in 2010, asking women everywhere to raise their voices in opposition to poverty, violence against women and children, and war and militarization. From March to October, WMW events will span the globe, leading up to an international march in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

To many of us, the issues that confronted society on that first International Women’s Day in 1910 sound frighteningly familiar. A century later, the gap between rich and poor continues to widen, as a technology that once promised to free us from labor has only by Shaun Knittel succeeded in freeing us from jobs. Labor SGN Staff Writer unions are once again under attack, women still struggle for equality and control over A Mailman School of Public Health study examining the effects of institutional discrimination on the psychiatric health of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual individuals found an increase in psychiatric disorders among the LGB population living in states that instituted bans on same-sex marriage.

The study, published in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health, is available online.

The data, collected from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), came from participants who were initially interviewed during 2000-2001 (Wave 1), and again in 20042005 (Wave 2), where participants’ sexual orientation was assessed.

Deborah Hasin, PhD, professor of clinical epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and senior author of the study, analyzed the data with colleagues at the NYS Psychiatric Institute and Harvard University.

“To address the impact of institutional discrimination on mental health, we examined whether LGB individuals living in states that instituted constitutional amendments banning Gay marriage via the 2004-

Visit us online www.sgn.org

A rally at Occidental Park will follow the march, featuring thought-provoking entertainment and dynamic local social activists speaking on issues such as reproductive justice, concerns of youth, immigrant rights, and the ways women can work together locally, nationally, and internationally. The march, rally, and celebration will be ASL interpreted, a bus will be provided for disabled transport along march route.

On Monday, March 8, the celebration will continue at a community gathering from 7 to 9 p.m. at POCAAN, 1609 19th Ave. near E. Madison St. In a relaxed atmosphere, with refreshments and entertainment by local performers, the program will honor the contributions of women who have worked on social justice issues here in Seattle. Donations will be collected to support women in Haiti. POCAAN is wheelchair-accessible.

Affiliated events are being planned by groups involved in planning the march, rally, and celebration: On March 4, the Asian and Pacific Islander Women and Family Safety Center held its annual candlelight vigil for victims of domestic violence. The vigil took place at the King County Courthouse at 3rd and Yesler, site of the murders of Susan Blackwell, Phoebe Dizon, and Veronica Laurete in a 1995 domestic violence crime.

Following the march and rally on March 6, Communities Against Rape and Abuse (CARA) will host a special International Women’s Day production of its monthly open mic and talent showcase “Ladies First,” beginning at 8 p.m. at Hidmo Eritrean Cuisine and Community Empowerment Project at 2000 S. Jackson St. Organizers hope that activists looking for energy and inspiration will attend many of these events to gain a more rounded picture of the exciting work being done throughout our Seattle communities. Visit “Seattle International Women’s Day 2010” on Facebook for more information.

To those who say, “Why march?” the international organizers of the World March of Women say this: “We will march to demonstrate our perseverance and our strength as collectively organized women with diverse experiences, political cultures and ethnic backgrounds, but with a common identity and goal: The desire to overthrow the current, unjust world order that provokes violence and poverty, and to construct the world we want based on peace, justice, equality, freedom and solidarity.”

Studies show disorders rise from discriminatory policies

March 5, 2010

2005 elections evidenced increased rates of psychiatric disorders between Wave 1 and Wave 2 of the survey,” said the authors.

According to the data experts, among LGB study participants living in these states, the prevalence of mood disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, and alcohol use disorders increased significantly between Wave 1 to Wave 2, with the greatest increase – more than 200% – in generalized anxiety disorder.

The prevalence of any psychiatric disorder also increased slightly among heterosexual respondents, but to a much lesser extent than their LGB counterparts.

“Before this study, little was known about the impact of institutional discrimination towards LGB individuals,” said Dr. Hasin.

“The study highlights the importance of abolishing institutional forms of discrimination, including those leading to disparities in the mental health and wellbeing of LGB individuals.”

Institutional discrimination is characterized by societal-level conditions that limit the opportunities and access to resource by socially disadvantaged people.

The authors note that during and soon after the 2004 election, 14 states approved constitutional amendments restricting marriage to unions between a man and a woman.

Seattle Gay News

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INTERNATIONAL courtesy justjared

NEWS

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer

Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir

Australian Senate rejects same-sex marriage bill Australia’s Senate rejected a measure to legalize same-sex marriage February 26.

The vote was 5-45. Twenty-six senators failed to vote.

The bill, introduced by the Greens, was opposed by the Labor, Family First and Liberal/National/Country Liberal Coalition parties.

“The Coalition believes the [oppositesex] definition of marriage, as contained in the existing provisions of the Marriage Act, reflects the standards and mores of contemporary Australia,” said Liberal Sen. George Brandis.

The organization Australian Marriage Equality denounced the vote and vowed to make same-sex marriage an election issue.

“It is arrogant of [Prime Minister] Kevin Rudd and [Liberal leader] Tony Abbott to ignore the 60 percent of Australians who, opinion polls show, support same-sex marriage”, said AME National Convener Alex Greenwich.

“However, the fact that 26 senators were absent from today’s debate is an indication that there is dissent in the ranks of the major parties, dissent which we believe will only grow. Because the leaders of the major parties are clearly deaf to the wishes of mainstream Australia we have no choice but to make this an election issue when the nation

goes to the polls later this year,” Greenwich said.

AME said “there’s no such thing as half equal” and criticized same-sex “relationship registers” as conferring an unacceptable second-class status.

A Galaxy poll released last June found that 60 percent of Australians support same-sex marriage, including 64 percent of Labor voters and 50 percent of Coalition voters.

to-female Transgender people. They were convicted under the cross-dressing ban and fined 7,500 Guyanese dollars ($36) each by Georgetown Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson, who told them to go to church and give their lives to Christ.

“It was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life,” said Seon “Falatama” Clarke, one of the arrestees and a plaintiff in the case. “I felt like I was less than human.”

Gays file complaint against Quebec sportscasters The Quebec Gay and Lesbian Council filed a complaint February 22 against sportscasters Alain Goldberg and Claude Mailhot, who said on the air that Olympic skater Johnny Weir hurts figure skating’s image and should take a gender test or maybe compete in women’s events.

The broadcasters made the remarks on the show Le Réveil Olympique on the RDS sports network.

“They’ll think all the boys who skate will end up like him,” Goldberg said. “It sets a bad example. ... We should make him pass a gender test at this point.”

CQGL complained to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council and demanded that the duo publicly apologize. The organization called the remarks “outrageous and homophobic” and “offensive and derogatory.”

“It is unacceptable that a sports commentator and a host mock and denigrate an athlete based on his appearance,” CQGL said.

“These men have undermined not only the integrity of the athlete, but also that of Gays and heterosexuals who do not conform to social stereotypes.”

refused to register the activist group Marriage Equality Russia.

The ministry said the group’s aims contradict a law that defines “marriage as a union between a man and a woman.”

The organization will appeal as far as the European Court of Human Rights, if necessary, said spokesman Nikolai Alekseev.

“Russia is a country where you cannot hold a march in the streets if you openly advertise it as Gay, and this is the same with registering an openly Gay organization,” Alekseev said.

Attempts to stage Gay pride marches in Moscow over the past four years have been met with official bans from Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Small groups of activists who tried to march anyway were violently attacked each year by riot police and anti-Gay mobs.

Indian professor who had Gay sex driven from university An Indian languages professor at Aligarh Muslim University in Lucknow, India, was driven from his job in mid-February after a TV news crew burst into his house and taped him having sex with a male “rickshaw puller,” the Times of India reported February 18.

The report said that students sent the TV crew to Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras’ residence and that the footage was later shared with university officials.

University spokesman Rahat Abrar called the incident “a scandal that no institution of repute can overlook.”

The school suspended Siras for “gross misconduct” and he then decided to leave.

A Delhi High Court decision last year legalized Gay sex in India.

Russian Gay marriage group denied registration With assistance from Bill Kelley and AnRussia’s Justice Ministry on February 22 drés Duque

NATIONAL

NEWS

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer

Transgenders file suit against Guyana cross-dressing ban Members of Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination filed suit in the Supreme Court on February 19 against the nation’s ban on cross-dressing.

The “originating notice of motion” says the cross-dressing law is “irrational, discriminatory, undemocratic” and unconstitutional.

The law makes it an offense when an individual “being a man, in any public way or public place, for any improper purpose, appears in female attire, or being a woman, in any public way or public place, for any improper purpose, appears in male attire.”

The law is part of a section of Guyana’s legal code that also bans Gay sex.

A year ago, in a series of crackdowns, Guyanese police arrested several maleMike Jagendorf

New York City’s Chinatown parade

West Virginia constitutional-amendment effort blocked Democrats in West Virginia’s House of Delegates on February 23 stopped Republicans from advancing a resolution supporting the idea of a voter referendum to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

Republicans were attempting to force the measure out of committee and onto the House floor for a vote.

West Virginia already prohibits same-sex marriage and blocks recognition of samesex marriages from other states or countries.

State Republicans, however, would like to see the ban inserted into the state constitu6

Seattle Gay News

March 5, 2010

tion so it would be harder to overturn.

NYC Gays march in Chinatown parade Some 300 Gays and Lesbians marched in the Lunar New Year parade in Manhattan’s Chinatown on February 21.

The contingent was joined by Irish and South Asian LGBTs, who have been banned from the city’s St. Patrick’s Day and India Day parades.

Steven Tin, head of the Better Chinatown Society, which organizes the new-year parade, told the New York Daily News he didn’t see any reason to exclude Gay marchers.

With assistance from Bill Kelley

Celebrating 37 Years!

NORTHWEST

NEWS

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

TACOMA RAINBOW CENTER COMMUNITY SURVEY 2010 The Tacoma Rainbow Center throughout the month of March is conducting a population survey for LGBTQ people in the general Pierce County area. The survey results will provide a more detailed and comprehensive view of the LGBTQ community in the region. Data from the survey will be used to help get funding for programs aimed at the LGBTQ community, and will have the potential for other positive political and social implications for LGBTQ people.

A summary of survey results will be shared. The survey is anonymous and takes about ten minutes to fill out. The survey can be accessed March 1-31 through a link (“Rainbow Center Community Survey”) at the Tacoma Rainbow Center website, www. rainbowcntr.org, or call the Center, 253-3832318 for other ways to access the survey.

“We want the participation of everyone in the community, and we will accommodate participants with no computer access.”

PUDDLETOWN SQUARES PRESENTS “RAIN FESTIVAL 2010 – FORBIDDEN ISLAND” On the weekend of March 5-7, Puddletown Squares, Seattle’s LGBT square dancing club, presents “Rain Festival 2010 – Forbidden Island,” their annual square dancing convention hosting LGBT square dancers and LGBT square dancing clubs from around the U.S. and Canada for a weekend of festivities and square dancing in Seattle.

The event will be held at Miller Community Center, 330 19th Ave., just north of E. Thomas St. www.iagsdc.org/puddletown.

“AN EVENING WITH DINA MARTINA” The incomparable Dina Martina presents a new evening (or matinee, if you prefer) of hilarious songs, stories, videos and audience gifts that will knock your socks off.

Because Dina Martina’s performances have been described as “totally fresh” and “unlike anything you’ve ever seen,” it’s next to impossible to effectively describe what a Dina Martina show is like. It is, however, easy to list some things the show IS: hysterically funny, surprisingly smart, hilariously stupid, occasionally obscure, surreal, sweet, full of pathos. The show runs March 5-April 18 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Doors open one hour prior to show time. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. 1-800-838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com/event/93619.

NOTE: No one under 21 years old will be admitted.

“DREAMS COME TRUE” – THE IMPERIAL PRINCE & PRINCESS BALL XXI IN EVERETT On Friday, March 5, the Imperial Sovereign Court of Snohomish County – Empire of Dreams presents the “Out of Town Show” at Twisted, 1212 California St., Everett, door at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. The show will feature performances by out-of-town dignitaries who are in town for the ball on Saturday. Cost is $10 at the door.

On Saturday, March 6, join the Empire of Dreams for “Dreams Come True,” the Imperial Prince & Princess Ball XXI, at the Sons of Norway Normanna Hall, 2705 Oaks Ave., Everett, door at 5 p.m., show at 6 p.m.

Cost is $25.00.

NORTHWEST SASH BASH 2010 Generic Leather Productions present “Northwest Sash Bash 2010” the weekend of March 5-7. On Friday, March 5, “Meet & Greet” from 9-11 p.m. at The Cuff Complex, 13th Ave. & E. Pike St. On Saturday, March 6, “Brunch” from 11 a.m.-noon at The Center for Sex Positive Culture (CSPC), 1602 15th Ave. W., “Workshops” from 12-3 p.m. at the CSPC, “Fantasies/Leather and Lace Auction” from 7-9 p.m. at The Cuff

Complex, “Play Party” from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. at CSPC. On Sunday, March 7, “Farewell Brunch” from noon-2 p.m. at The Rosebud Restaurant & Bar, 719 E. Pike St. For more information, email nwsashbash2010@ gmail.com.

SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY MARCH & RALLY On Saturday, March 6, join a broad coalition of Seattle area women’s organizations for Seattle’s International Women’s Day March and Rally focusing on poverty, militarization, and violence against women and children. The March begins at noon at Powell Barnett Park, MLK Jr. Way & E. Alder St., and travels to Occidental Park, Occidental Ave. S. & S. Washington St. for a Rally at 2 p.m. Additional events will be held later in the day. On Monday, March 8, the Seattle International Women’s Day Celebration will be held from 7-9 p.m., at POCAAN, 1609 19th Ave. For more information, 206-7220729; inter.womensday2010@gmail.com; or visit Seattle International Women’s Day on facebook.com.

um seating and Oscar gift bag at 3:30 p.m.), join Gay City Health Project and Three Dollar Bill Cinema for their Fifth Annual Academy Awards Party at SoDo Park, 3200 First Ave. S. Watch the Oscars on big screens, enjoy hors d’oeuvres all evening, and get an entry to win some fantastic door prizes – including tickets to see legendary comic Lily Tomlin at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Tickets: $25-general and $40-VIP in advance; $5 more at the door. www.gaycity. org.

LIFELONG AIDS ALLIANCE “CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY BREAKFAST” On Tuesday, March 9, from 7:30-9 a.m., join Lifelong AIDS Alliance at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel, 6th Ave. & Pike St., for their inaugural “Caring for Our Community” Benefit Breakfast in support of Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Help make a difference in the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. Suggested minimum donation is $125.

Please email Sage Marts at sagem@llaa.org or call 206-957-1742 or visit www.llaa.org for more information.

GSBA PRIME TIME MIXER On Wednesday, March 10, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA), Seattle’s LGBT & Allies Chamber of Commerce, hosts their monthly social/networking event at Cupcake Royale & Verite Coffee, 1111 E. Pike St. Cost is $10-members/students and $15-non-memSEATTLE GAY FLAG FOOTBALL bers. For more information, call 206-363LEAGUE SEEKING PLAYERS Seattle Gay Flag Football League seeks 9188 or visit www.thegsba.org. players of all skill levels for weekly SaturPOZ SEATTLE HOSTS day practices and games. Upcoming pracST. PATRICK’S DAY SOCIAL tices on March 6, 1 p.m., at Miller Playfield, On Wednesday, March 10, from 6-8 p.m., 19th Ave. E. & E. Thomas St. The complete game schedule will be out soon. Games are POZSeattle hosts their monthly social at The currently scheduled for Saturdays March Cuff Complex, 1533 13th Ave., at E. Pine St. 13, 20, 27 and April 3 – time and location This month’s theme is: “St. Patrick’s Day.” “Meet us in the downstairs bar for light to be determined. Practices and games are open to spectators. There will be a summer snacks, socializing, catching-up with old break with pick-up games scheduled dur- friends, making new ones, and a whole lot ing the summer. League practice and play of fun – Corned Beef Reuben sandwiches will return in the fall. For more information, included.” This event is FREE (except for contact Manager Rich at atlasrich@hotmail. the cost of beverages) and is for all HIVcom or join the Seattle Gay Flag Football Positive men and their friends, regardless of age, shape, size, or color.

League group on Facebook.

“Please spread the word about us! If you or your group or organizaton would like to EQUAL RIGHTS WASHINGTON sponsor one of our monthly socials by either HOSTS FOURTH ANNUAL GALA – donations or by providing a meal, or both, “THE POWER OF US” On Saturday, March 6, join ERW at the please contact us at info@pozseattle.org.

“POZSeattle is a social organizaton run W Hotel, 1112 Fourth Ave., for a celebration of the amazing work of the past year, for and by Seattle-area HIV-positive guys with many surprises, live and silent auc- that is committed to planning and promottions, with entertainment by Emmy award- ing fun social activities. Our primary social winning comedienne and actress Judy Gold. event is always held on the 2nd Wednesday Enjoy cocktails and silent auction, 6-7:30 of each month. For questions or more inforp.m.; seated dinner, live auction and enter- mation about this event, to plan your own tainment, 7:30-10 p.m.; after party 10 p.m. social event, or to be added to our event proto late. Tickets: $200 per person; $2,000 motion email list, email info@pozseattle. table of 10. Dress: Feel free to define where org or visit us on the web at www.pozsefancy meets expressive: black tie and den- attle.org.” im, cocktail chic, fashionably classy but SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN comfortable. 206-324-2570; www.equalBOOK CLUB AT DUNSHEE HOUSE rightswashington.org.

The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at DunAARON’S RAINBOW PROJECT shee House, 303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas PRESENTS “OUT” CHRISTIAN St. The club is pleased to announce the folSINGER/SONGWRITER lowing title to be discussed in their ongoing SHAWN THOMAS reading and discussion series: March – The AT GRACE GOSPEL AND MCC On Saturday, March 6, at 7 p.m., Grace Pure and the Impure by Colette. All GLBTQ Gospel Chapel, 2052 NW 64th St., presents folks in the community are welcome to parGay Christian musician Shawn Thomas ticipate in this free book club. The reading in concert. On Sunday March 7, at 1 p.m., list is chosen and the discussion facilitated MCC Seattle, in the Chapel at Temple de by Nick DiMartino, published novelist and Hirsch Sinai, 1441 16th Ave., between E. playwright, currently a book reviewer for Union and E. Pike Sts., hosts a worship ser- ShelfAwareness.com, and a 30-year emvice featuring Shawn Thomas and his mu- ployee of University Book Store. For more information, email nickdimartin@earthlink. sic. www.shawnthomasonline.com. net or contact Dunshee House at 206-3222437.

THE BOTTLENECK LOUNGE TURNS THREE! GAY CITY HOSTS On Saturday, March 6, from 8 p.m.-2 a.m., “QUEERITUALITY” The BottleNeck Lounge, 2328 E. Madison On Wednesday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m., St., between 23rd Ave. & E. John St., celebrates their third anniversary with drink Gay City Health Project hosts their monthly reading and discussion group about Gay/Bi specials and prizes. 206-323-1098. men’s spirituality at Kaladi Brothers Coffee, 511 E. Pike St. For more information, call GAY CITY & 206-860-6969 or visit www.gaycity.org.

THREE DOLLAR BILL CINEMA’S 5TH ANNUAL Q-LAW HOSTS SOUTH SOUND ACADEMY AWARDS PARTY MEMBERSHIP DRIVE & SOCIAL On Sunday, March 7, starting at 4:30 p.m.

(VIP champagne and wine reception, premi-

Visit us online www.sgn.org

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On Thursday, March 11, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Q-Law, the GLBT Bar Association of Washington, invites you to their Sound Sound Membership Drive and Social, at the Tempest Lounge, 913 Martin Luther King Jr., Way, Tacoma. www.tempestlounge. com. For more information, email CSanders@gth-law.com. www.q-law.org.

MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE PRESENTS FREE “SPARKS OF GLORY” CONCERT AT GOOD SHEPHERD CENTER On Saturday, March 13, at 2 p.m., Music of Remembrance presents “Sparks of Glory: Fathers” – a FREE concert featuring the song cycle “Fathers,” with the premiere of a new version sung by Portland Opera mezzo Angela Niederloh, at the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N. Contemporary composer Lori Laitman’s “songs represent outpourings of great beauty,” says Fanfare. Here, Laitman explores the fatherchild relationship combining the Holocaust poetry of Sri Lankan poet Anne Ranasinghe and the work of Russian poet David Vogel.

Ernest Bloch’s “Baal Shem” is a deeply touching musical portrait of Chassidic life.

Nazis banned Erwin Schulhoff’s music as “degenerate”; his sparkling “Duo” bears the influence of its dedicatee, Leos Janácek.

MOR Artistic Director Mina Miller introduces each piece. www.musicofremembrance.org.

“PALESTINIAN WOMEN RESIST THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION” – AN INT’L WOMEN’S DAY FORUM “Palestinian Women Resist the Israeli Occupation” is the theme of an International Women’s Day forum to be held on Saturday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m., at New Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Ave. Globally celebrated, International Women’s Day was initiated in 1910 by German socialist Clara Zetkin to honor a March 8 strike by female garment workers in New York City.

Seattle Radical Women’s event features a panel discussion on the leadership of women in the daily struggle against the U.S.backed Israeli blockade of Gaza. Speakers will address ways to support the Palestinian movement, including the effort to build an international boycott of Israeli products.

Panelists include: Nada Elia, co-chair of the Incite! Anti-Militarism Taskforce and an organizer for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, and Adrienne Weller, a Jewish defender of Palestinian rights and a signer of the Cairo Declaration, which denounced “Israel’s ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians through the illegal occupation and siege of Gaza.” Ray Fidel, an Israeli-American feminist, critic of the Zionist state and professor at the University of Washington, will serve as chair.

A Middle Eastern dinner will be served prior to the program at 6 p.m. for a $10 donation. A $2 donation is requested. Sliding scale and work exchanges are available. For more information, rides or childcare, call 206-722-6057 or 722-2452 or email rwseattle@mindspring.com. This event is wheelchair accessible. www.radicalwomen.org SEATTLE ECSA OPEN & WOMEN’S LEAGUES SEEKING SOFTBALL PLAYERS FOR UPCOMING SEASON The Emerald City Softball Association’s Open League for Gay and non-Gay men and women is holding a New Player Skills Assessment on Sunday, March 14, 11 a.m., at Rainier Playfield, 3700 S. Alaska St. (at Rainier Ave. S.) to meet and evaluate new players who are interested in joining one of four skills levels baseball teams in the ECSA Open League. You can also sign up on the ECSA Open League “New Player Matchmaker” roster by creating a new player profile on the ECSA Open League website – www.emeraldcitysoftball.org.

The Emerald City Softball Association’s Women’s League for Gay and non-Gay women only is hosting a Play Day on Sunday, March 28, from 9:30 a.m.-noon, for players who are looking to be picked up on a team. Players will run through three drills – hitting, fielding and throwing. The Play Day will be held at Lower Woodland Ball Field #4, off Greenlake Way N. & N. 50th St. www.seattlewomenecsa.com.

Seattle Gay News

7

Century Ballroom celebrates 13 years dancing on the Hill

“We offer Queer dance classes and host two dances monthly geared towards the LGBT community,” she said. “Again, in my mind, the idea is to put everyone on the dance floor together.”

Over the years, Kuperman has opened the doors to her businesses for the LGBT community for a number of workshops, classes, and various festivities. “I’ve been lucky enough to have been successful, and if I can give back to the community by offering space, then that’s a great thing,” she said.

Kuperman told SGN it is impossible to pick one or two of her best memories over the past 13 years. “When you throw dances seven nights a week, teach almost that many days a week for 13 years, host internationally acclaimed musicians and dance legends, produce cabarets, open new spaces, watch people meet and fall in love, offer a great place to eat and drink and be merry, I don’t know how you could choose,” she said.

Social dancing is a scary concept for many people, Kuperman said. But she says anyone could learn. “Anyone can dance; not everyone can be a professional dancer.

I’m inspired to dance by music, some are inspired to dance just because it’s a form of expression through movement,” Kuperman explained. “I will challenge anyone who says they can’t, to give it a try because in some instances it really will change your life.”

“Dancing is good for your soul,” she concluded. “It’s healing. It’s non-verbal communication. It’s exercise, it’s entertaining, and it’s romantic. It makes you smile.”

For more information about Century Ballroom, Tin Table, West Hall, and Halo, including reserving the spaces, upcoming events, and dance classes, visit Kuperman online at www.centuryballroom.com.

anian citizens including minors.

Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, will be the site of the annual Baltic Pride celebration on May 7 and 8. Previous attempts to hold Pride celebrations in Lithuania were banned by authorities.

Eduardos Latovas of the Lithuania Gay

by Mike Andrew League told IPS news service, “Even though SGN Staff Writer European Union will not let a Member State we have equality bodies and similar organirestrict its citizens’ fundamental rights. Lith- zations, the public attitudes here are generA controversial anti-Gay law took effect uanian people, including young people, are March 1 in the Baltic nation of Lithuania, the victims of parliamentarians’ outdated sparking speculation that the European fears: what they need is access to informaUnion may intervene to force repeal. tion on the society and family of the 21st According to reports, the law forbids “mi- century.” nors” from receiving any information about “What we need to promote is honesty any type of sexual relationship, and seeks to about all forms of loving relationships,” he protect the “traditional” concept of family added. defined by the Lithuanian Constitution as a Ulrike Lunacek MEP, the other co-pres- by Mike Andrew union between a man and a woman. ident of the Intergroup, said that she was SGN Staff Writer An earlier draft of the law expressly pro- happy there is no longer any explicit menhibited “the propaganda of homosexuality tion of homosexuality in the law.

More than 100 protestors gathered outside and Bisexuality” to minors.

“But referring to the traditional concept of the Taipei City Government headquarters That version was condemned by the Eu- family is also problematic,” she said, “not on March 1, demanding an apology for an ropean Parliament in September 2009, and just because it refers only to a couple made anti-Gay memo sent to Taiwan high schools Lithuanian lawmakers revised the text. up of a man and a woman, but also because by the Ministry of Education.

Lithuania joined the European Union in male domestic violence against women and According to the Taiwan Post newspaper, 2004, and is bound by all its membership children has been a taboo in traditional con- the ministry had circulated a suggestion by stipulations, including the European Con- cepts of family.” the Taipei City Council Civil Affairs Comvention on Human Rights.

“Young people in Lithuania need informa- mittee that city departments should discuss Michael Cashman, Member of the Euro- tion about modern concepts of partnership ways to “avoid high school student groups pean Parliament (MEP) and co-president of and family.” from leading students into homosexual acthe EU’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights, said Both MEPs pledged that the European tivities.” that the latest version of the law is margin- Parliament and the European Commission The ministry expressed the hope that, free ally better than earlier drafts. will monitor application of the law and its from such influences, students might devel“Nevertheless,” Cashman warned, “the effects on the fundamental rights of Lithu- op “naturally.”

Taiwanese LGBT activists said the ministry’s memo violated the country’s Gender Use this Equity Education Act. coupon for More than 110 organizations and 1,500 people signed a petition saying that the $ government is encouraging discrimination against LGBT students. any size pizza Gay and Lesbian Awakening Days 700 East Pine St. Seattle (GLAD), a Taiwanese LGBT group, said HOMEMADE that no one is “led” into being Gay, and HAND added that the government’s ban on LGBT groups in schools is restricting the students’ FREE DELIVERY • 206-322-6444 “natural” development.

ally very homophobic.”

“The Catholic Church here promotes traditional family values when it comes to sexual orientation, while there is a very dominant media group called Respublica which has newspapers which preach homophobia.

They refer to homosexuals as ‘perverts,’ and there is no public opposition at all to this, nor any punishment from authorities for the publication,” Latovas said.

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brings me an immense amount of happiness, but really it’s all of the people who are involved with Century Ballroom who make it joyful.”

The anniversary party was a mix of music and dance. In the weeks leading up to the event, Kuperman asked Century Ballroom patrons to e-mail her their three favorite songs they liked to dance to. The resulting song list covered the spectrum of style; anniversary revelers danced to everything from hip-hop and swing to salsa and pop into the early morning hours.

As any small business owner would tell you, 13 years is considered a success. Starting off with just the ballroom, Kuperman has expanded her LGBT-friendly space to the Tin Table, a elegant and affordable restaurant across the hall from Century Ballroom; West Hall, a modern dance space with a stage, also housed inside the OddFellows Building; and Halo (500 E. Pike St.), a loft space where dance classes are held several nights a week.

“Over the past 13 years, Century Ballroom has changed in clientele due to the immense growth of Capitol Hill,” Kuperman told SGN. “Although I’m not opposed to new things, I am disappointed that what has suffered the most are the many small arts organizations, and I don’t think we’re done yet.”

Riding the winds of change, Kuperman began to change her approach. “I went from teaching a few classes a week, predominately to the Gay and Lesbian community, to teaching hundreds of people each week where we offer upwards of 30 different classes each session.”

For Kuperman, who is openly Lesbian, “The mission of Century Ballroom has always been to bring people together through social dance to break down barriers.”

Century Ballroom owner Hallie Kuperman

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer Century Ballroom’s 13th Anniversary February 27 OddFellows building Inside the newly renovated OddFellows Building (915 E. Pine St.) sits a Capitol Hill landmark. For 13 years, Hallie Kuperman’s Century Ballroom – with its 2,000 square feet of dance floor, full bar, and old world feel – has been home to social dancers look-

ing to dance the night away. On February 27, Kuperman celebrated 13 years of dance, family, and community with hundreds of Century Ballroom patrons who showed up to say “Happy Anniversary” by way of dance.

Kuperman told SGN that, for her, Century Ballroom is more than just a dance floor. “What we do here is about community and family,” she said, “from everyone who works here or has worked here, to the thousands upon thousands who have graced the Ballroom’s dance floor and stage. My work

Anti-Gay law takes effect in Lithuania

“The mission of Century Ballroom has always been to bring people together through social dance to break down barriers.”

Taiwanese protest antiGay government memo

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“We do not become homosexual because our friends are homosexual,” said GLAD’s statement.

“Sexual orientation is not about age, and we would not admit we are homosexual only after we are 18. Through homosexual groups and with the support of peers with similar experiences, we can overcome the feelings of inferiority and fear pressed on us by the society and understand and accept ourselves.”

Cho Keng-yu, spokesperson of Taiwan Gender Equity Education Association and a high school counselor, told the Taiwan Post that LGBT high school students suffer in a learning environment characterized by discrimination and misunderstanding.

Ministry of Education Secretary General Tsang Tsan-chin apologized for the memo and said his ministry will continue to respect the equality of different sexual orientations.

Taiwan’s Gender Equity Education Act of 2003 prohibits discrimination against LGBT students. Discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace was outlawed in 2007.

A poll of 6,439 adults released in 2006 by the National Union of Taiwan Women’s Associations/Constitutional Reform Alliance found that 75% believed being LGBT is acceptable, while 25% thought it unacceptable.

Celebrating 37 Years!

Two Trans women murdered in Turkey

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer International human rights advocates are calling on the Turkish government to protect its Transgender citizens in the wake of two murders of Trans women in recent weeks.

Turkish LGBT group Pembe Hayat (Pink Life), Human Rights Watch, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe) have written an open letter to the Turkish Government, calling for stronger protection for Trans citizens.

The letter details the most recent killing of a Transgender woman on February 16 in Istanbul.

Turkish media reported that Aycan Yener was stabbed 17 times and had her throat cut.

Her housemate was also repeatedly stabbed in the attack, but survived.

According to Turkish media, witnesses saw three people fleeing the scene, but no one has been arrested.

On February 8, another Trans woman, identified as Derya Y, was stabbed to death in her home in the southwestern port city of Antalya. Her throat was cut and she was found with multiple stab wounds.

Since November 2008, activists say at least eight Transgender women have been murdered in Ankara, Istanbul, and Antalya.

Turkish police also report recent attacks on Gay men.

On January 28, police found 56-year-old Şinasi Halimoğlu dead on his bed with multiple knife wounds to his back and neck. He had reportedly attempted to set up a date with another man.

In two earlier murders of LGBT victims, suspects were caught, prosecuted, and sentenced to life in prison. In two other cases, suspects are in pre-trial detention.

The most recent murders are being investigated. However, activists say little has been done to protect LGBT people in Turkey, especially Transgender people, from future acts of violence.

“Protecting people and preventing violence means more than investigating af-

Two men charged in alleged anti-Gay attack

by Shaun Knittel ter the fact,” said Human Rights Watch SGN Staff Writer researcher Juliana Cano Nieto. “Without King County Prosecutors have filed meaningful government action to affirm their rights and ensure their safety, Trans- malicious harassment charges gender people in Turkey will continue to against two men for an alleged anti-Gay attack live in fear.”

“All citizens of Turkey, including Trans- outside a South Seattle gender citizens, are entitled to live without community center. fear of murder or persecution,” said Hos- The charges fall unsein Alizadeh, coordinator of IGLHRC’s der Washington’s Middle East and North Africa program. hate crimes stat“The homophobic killings need to stop, and ute and are confor this we need the Turkish government to sidered a felony.

Charging docutake concrete action to protect Transgender ments allege people.”

In their letter to the Turkish government, Adnan Basher Osman, 22, and the organizations recommended: • Enacting anti-discrimination legislation Abdinasir Ahmed, that includes sexual orientation and gender 21, attacked another man at a Somalia New identity; • Keeping statistics that specifically docu- Year’s Party on January 3, at the Filipino Community ment violence against LGBT people; and • Instituting consistent communication be- Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. and S. Juneau. tween the police and LGBT rights groups.

According to court records, at about 1:30 In its 2009 Progress Report on Turkey, the a.m. on January 3, Seattle police were called European Commission said that Transgento the community center following a report der people were still subject to continued violence in Turkey, and that Turkish Criminal of a fight. Arriving at the center, officers Code provisions on “public exhibitionism” were told a man had been attacked during a and “offences against public morality” al- community celebration there.

The man told detectives he was walking lowed police to discriminate against LGBT with his friends when two men, Osman and people.

Turkey’s application to join the European Ahmed, jumped him on a path outside the Union has been stalled by a number of is- center. Prosecutors allege both men shouted sues, including European concerns over “you Gay motherfucker” as they assaulted the victim.

Turkey’s human rights record.

Court documents say a security guard ILGA-Europe will visit Turkey in April to working the event witnessed the assault. Osassess Turkey’s compliance with its Euroman was arrested at the scene, while Ahmed pean and international human rights obligations toward LGBT people and to document was able to escape before police arrived. The anti-LGBT violence and discrimination security guard told police Ahmed allegedly there.

“Turkey is witnessing ongoing violence and hate against LGBT people,” said ILGA-Europe’s Silvan Agius. “The Turkish government’s response needs to address the problems at their roots by tackling the severe stigma against LGBT people, social exclusion and poverty on the one hand, and the culture of gender stereotypes that is driving the violence and hate on the other.”

yelled “I wanna beat your ass, you Gay-ass motherfucker,” as he fled the scene.

“The victim reported to the police that in his Somali culture, Gay men are stoned to death for being Gay,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Michael T.J. Hogan said in court documents.

Police booked Osman into King County Jail and later arrested Ahmed at his home in New Holly.

Court documents allege Ahmed had “been telling others in the Somalian community that he is going to kill [the victim] because he is Gay.” According to charging documents, the victim told detectives he was “so afraid of his assailants that, prior to the attack, he had stopped attending his mosque – required by his faith – to avoid them.”

“The victim reported to the police that in his Somali culture, Gay men are stoned to death for being Gay.”

Gay rights enters debate over Northrop Grumman’s HQ pick

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer

Gay advocates and legislators are attempting to discourage Gay-friendly defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. from relocating its headquarters to Virginia, due to the state’s lack of protections for Gay and Lesbian workers.

On February 25, Gay rights group Equality Virginia obtained a letter from a Maryland senator asking Northrop Grumman Corp.’s chief executive to locate the company’s corporate headquarters in Maryland rather than Virginia.

Maryland forbids employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, however, it does not have specific statutory language against discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

Northrop Grumman has been praised by Gay rights supporters for its treatment of employees. The aerospace and defense firm announced last month it plans to relocate its headquarters from Los Angeles, California to the Washington, D.C. area.

The request, penned by openly Gay Maryland State Senator Richard Madaleno, Jr., contrasted his state’s tolerant policies with what he said were recent actions in Virginia “dismantling the few protections” afforded

to Gays and Lesbians.

Copies of the letter were distributed on March 1 at a news conference held in support of Virginia Senator Donald McEachin’s legislation, Senate Bill SB66, which would establish a nondiscrimination policy that includes sexual orientation as a protected class.

“It’s the right thing to do and the right time to do it,” McEachin told reporters at the press conference.

Eleven states and Washington, D.C. have worker protection policies that address sexual orientation – Washington state was the third state in the union to establish employment nondiscrimination for Gays and Lesbians.

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March 5, 2010

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Gay pulp fiction

by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer One of the most important Gay books of the 20th century was Richard Amory’s Song of the Loon: A Gay Pastoral in Five Books and an Interlude (Greenleaf Classics).

While of doubtful literary value, Song of the Loon made Gay literary history with its explicit depictions of Gay male sex, its positive portrayal of male love and its poetic, almost mystical vision of a Gay brotherhood that transcends racial and cultural barriers.

For his “Gay pastoral,” Amory took “certain very European characters from the novels of Jorge de Montemayor and Gaspar Gil Polo, painted them a Gay aesthetic red, and transplanted them to the American wilderness.”

Angelo d’Arcangelo compared Song of the Loon to The Last of the Mohicans and “Hiawatha,” while I myself described protagonist Ephraim MacIver as “Natty Bumppo after Stonewall.” Song of the Loon was so popular that it inspired a movie of the same title, two sequels – Song of Aaron and Listen, The Loon Sings – and even a parody: Fruit of the Loon by “Ricardo Armory.”

Fortunately, Song of the Loon is back in print, in a handsome edition published by

Vancouver’s Arsenal Pulp Press as part of its Little Sister’s line of Lesbian and Gay classics. It certainly deserves the honor.

The publication of Song of the Loon in 1966 launched a wave of Gay erotic pulp fiction, as paperback publishers discovered the genre’s financial benefits. The rise and fall of Gay pulp fiction is the main topic of The Golden Age of Gay Fiction, an anthology edited by Drewey Wayne Gunn (MLR Press).

In this book, the “golden age of Gay fiction” runs from 1948 to 1978, though Gunn and his contributors recognize the landmark importance of Amory’s first novel.

In his introduction, Gunn writes about the historical importance of fiction that was for, by, and about Gay men. Contrary to popular belief, the Gay men who populated preStonewall novels were not always doomed “to suicide, institutionalization or (assumed) celibacy in the priesthood.” Rather, Gay pulp heroes “never practiced celibacy (quite the contrary!), did not kill themselves, and were institutionalized, if at all, only in prisons (in order to have lots of sex with guards and fellow convicts). Even more extraordinary, they often fell in love, and though monogamy was seldom part of their vows, they fully intended to live lives committed to others unto death.” Critic David Seubert, writing elsewhere, described the state of affairs in Gay pulps as “homotopia ... where everything is imbued with sexual content, no one is straight and characters stumble into one sexual encounter after another without danger, fear, or for that matter, without even really trying.”

But Gay pulp fiction did more than make Gay sex writing possible. According to Gunn, “it is among the pulps that such distinctive genres as Gay horror, the Gay gothic, to a large extent the Gay mystery and the Gay spy story, the Gay cop story, and the

Gay western developed.” (Song of the Loon, of course, was a major contributor to this last genre.) The Golden Age of Gay Fiction includes detailed studies of Gay science fiction, Gay mystery, Gay horror, Gay western (including Loon) and Gay military fiction, and in all counts the genres were well-established by the time Gay militants faced the cops at the Stonewall Inn. One of the characteristics of Gay pulp fiction was the use of pen names by authors shy about being exposed as creators of smut.

In fact, some authors used many pen names: In the Golden Age, Victor J. Banis wrote pulps as “Don Holliday,” “Victor Jay” and “J. X. Williams,” among others. Since then, Banis has come out of the literary closet,

and has written many books under his real name. Banis also contributed an essay to The Golden Age of Gay Fiction, as did Jan Ewing, aka “Jack Evans.” Other contributors provide critical analyses of the works of Banis, Joseph Hansen (“James Colton”), Gordon Merrick and Lonnie Coleman. All in all, The Golden Age of Gay Fiction is a valuable resource for lovers of Gay literature, history, and sex. If nothing else, it would lead to renewed interest in the works of our literary ancestors.

uganda

ues.

The bill “is violating our cultures, traditions and religious values that teach against intolerance, injustice, hatred and violence,” he said on the Avaaz.org website.

“We need laws to protect people – not ones that will humiliate, ridicule, persecute and kill them en masse.”

The proposed bill has been condemned by Anglican leaders like Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, and Archbishop of York John Sentamu, who was born in Uganda.

The Anglican Church of Uganda supports it, however.

Archbishop of Uganda Henry Orombi issued a statement saying that “homosexual practice has no place in God’s design of creation, the continuation of the human race through procreation, or His plan of redemption.”

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, bill sponsor David Bahati, and anti-Gay pastor Martin Ssempa have all been linked to prominent US evangelical groups.

Museveni and Bahati are reportedly protégés of The Family – also known as The Fellowship or The C Street Group – a secretive organization of right-wing Christian politicians. Ssempa was an associate of pastor Rick Warren till Warren disavowed the Anti-Homosexual Bill last November.

President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and European Union leaders have also condemned the bill. The U.S. State Department has reportedly extracted a commitment from President Museveni that the bill would not be enacted.

Several governments have threatened to withdraw aid to Uganda if the bill becomes law.

continued from cover The petition is still available for signing at the Avaaz.org website. The goal is to collect one million signatures.

“Avaaz” means “voice” in several Middle Eastern languages. Avaaz.org is supported by Res Publica, MoveOn.org, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the largest US labor organizations.

Avaaz.org campaign director Alice Jay told Voice of America that her organization became involved in the petition drive “after receiving numerous requests from concerned Ugandans.”

“The strongest critics of this came from within Uganda and one of them said very clearly, ‘There is homophobia in Uganda like in most of the world. But we do not want our laws to be based on it,’” Jay said.

The petition was delivered by several Ugandan human rights activists, including Gay rights advocate Frank Mugisha, and two controversial Anglican clergymen, Bishop Christopher Ssemyonjo and Canon Gideon Byamugisha.

Ssenyonjo was excommunicated by the Church of Uganda in 2006 because of his support for Gay rights, and now leads an independent congregation.

Byamugisha is an Anglican priest who in 1992 became the first religious leader in Africa to declare that he was HIV-positive.

Byamugisha charged that the proposed bill – which provides the death penalty for “serial offender” Gays and for HIV-positive men who have sex – violates Ugandan val-

Jesse Monteagudo (jessemonteagudo@ aol.com) is a freelance writer and Gay book collector who owns the second largest collection of Gay literature in South Florida.

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Celebrating 37 Years!

Choose to live GLBTQ youth and suicide

by Michael Raitt SGN Contributing Writer I’ve never spoken about this part of my life to anyone before: growing up in a small town, feeling completely alone, being afraid to identify as being Gay. No one knows that, starting about the age of 16 when I finally accepted I was Gay and this wasn’t going to change, I had so much fear and shame that I seriously contemplated killing myself several times. In many ways, it was a horrible time in my life. At 17, the first guy I’d ever fallen in love with wanted nothing to do with me and I felt completely isolated and heartbroken. Dying seemed like the best option to alleviate the pain, and I found myself focusing on how alone I was and that no one cared or would ever love me. The present and future were very dark, and I could not see anything positive.

Clearly, I chose to live, and I am so happy I did. At the time, I could not have foreseen how much I was going to enjoy my life and how many people I would come to love and who would love me. Yes, there have been many hard moments, yet I wouldn’t change a thing. I love my life, my friends and family, and I am thankful for what my life has brought me. I love being Gay! My life is rich and colorful.

My story is not unique, however, it is important. It is important because it describes a process that many of us have been through and that too many are going through still today. I want to talk about this because of the recent article in the SGN titled “Studies show LGBT teens bullied more, at higher suicide risk,” and I want anyone who finds themselves in the position of seriously considering suicide to not do it!

GLBTQ youth become suicidal when they feel so horrible about themselves that they

feel no one will accept them or love them – ever! They feel hideous because they’ve been hearing for years that they have no worth, that they are sick, an abomination to humanity, and that being LGBTQ is a perverse, deviant sickness that will make them want to molest children. Some of them are being beaten and are victims of daily/weekly physical assaults by family or classmates.

In this hopeless place, young GLBTQ men and women fixate on the darkness and lose track of their dreams and ambitions. It begins to feel like life will always be this way.

When they accept this as their destiny, they have rationalized their plans to end their lives and, far too often, put their plans into action – with devastating consequences.

If you are a young LGBTQ man or woman and are in this place, read on. If you are a friend, family member, teacher, or community leader, you can help, as well.

First, even in your despair, do not continually focus on how your life will never change. Your mind is playing a bit of a game with you. It will change. It cannot go on forever. Things will get better. You have to continue to focus and plan on the life you want to lead. You will be loved and you will love. You’ll have experiences that you can’t imagine right now – lots of laughter and fond memories. Sometimes life will be hard, but it won’t always be this dark!

Reach out and talk to someone. I know sometimes it is hard – I was there – but eventually, circumstances come around and you will be able to connect with others, which will lead to friends and experiences that will bring you out of this dark place to laugh, love, and have fun again. This process happened for many of us. Have patience. I sympathize with how hard it is to be patient when you are being beaten or humiliated, but it is necessary! You’ll see.

Talk to your doctor or school counselor or call a therapist. If they are not as supportive as you need them to be, tell them to help you find someone who is. As a teenager, you have rights to confidentiality so confide in a professional who will help you gain a positive perspective about yourself and your life – support in healthy acceptance as being GLBTQ. I cannot emphasize this enough: You are not a hideous creature. Being GLBTQ is not a sickness or perversion! Being GLBTQ in no way equates to being a child molester or deviant. You have gifts and talents, intelligence and beauty that will benefit those whose lives you touch. Even if you don’t know how this will happen, you have to believe it will!

Our place in this process is to step in as friends, family, teachers, professionals, and community leaders with acceptance. First and foremost, we have to always let these young men and women know how much we love them and how valuable they are, and that we accept them as GLBTQ. Messages that they are sick and perverted are no longer tolerable. Ideas that they have to change are inexcusable. We have to participate with them in their hopes and dreams and positive identity formation as GLBTQ. Adults, join a PFLAG organization (Par-

ents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) so that you can get support in accepting your child or in working with GLBTQ students in schools. If you, as a parent, are struggling with having a GLBTQ child, get professional help so that you can set an example and provide your child with what they need to be a healthy adult.

I cannot conceive that any normal, healthy, intelligent adult would find it acceptable that a young man or woman was suffering so much self-hatred that they would want to kill themselves. Do your part to figure out what you have to do to accept GLBTQ youth.

As a GLBTQ youth, do what you need to do to accept yourself in a positive way so that you can achieve your goals and live a rich, colorful, productive life. We need you! Don’t give up! Don’t give in! Hold on so that your story will inspire the GLBTQ youth that are coming up behind you.

Michael Raitt, MA LMHC, is a therapist and a contributing writer to the SGN. He writes a bi-monthly column in the SGN. If you would like to comment on this column, ask a question you’d like him to write about, or suggest another topic of interest, please contact him at askingmichael@comcast. net.

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Seattle Gay News 17

Gay-owned Video Connection on 15th closing its doors sara michelle fetters

time it’s Video Connection on the corner of 15th Ave. E. and E. Harrison St. Longtime owner Christopher Larson is still not quite over the fact that his community stalwart is going away.

“We’ve been here such a long time,” he said wistfully. “I’m still a bit stunned I had to make this decision.”

In operation since 1992, Larson has been with the business since the beginning, co-owning with his then-partner before buying him out and becoming the sole proprietor in 2001. The store went out of its way to cater to everyone, and Chris and his staff worked hard to bring in a variety of titles in a multitude of genres that would appeal to the differing backgrounds and interests of the community at large.

Video Connection owner Christopher Larson “Our bread and butby Sara Michelle Fetters ter were the adult titles, but I didn’t want the SGN Contributing Writer store to be known as just another place to go for porn,” Larson says honestly. “It was Another day on Capitol Hill, another LG- important to me that we create [a place] that BT-owned business closes its doors. This you wouldn’t feel bad about bringing your

kids inside to look around in, a place were people could feel comfortable knowing they would never be judged once they placed that videotape or DVD on the counter.”

According to a few of the customers browsing the store’s remaining products, that statement rings close to home. “I’ve been coming here since they opened the door,” said Terry, a longtime patron browsing the aisles who was also celebrating his 60th birthday. “There was a time when I was afraid of people knowing I was Gay and was worried what would happen if any of my friends or family found out. I could come here and rent whatever I wanted, and no one would judge me or stare after I made my selections. The staff was just so darn friendly and open about who they were, just being around them made me feel better about myself.”

“It’s a sad day when a business that’s been such an important part of my life closes. I felt much the same way when Bailey/Coy Books shut down, but this time it’s even a little bit worse. This is the place that [helped] me become who I am today; this is the place that made me proud to be an openly Gay man.”

Chris has heard many stories like this one over the years, and it’s the opportunity to make new stories that he’s going to miss the most. “Those stories go beyond the [LGBT] clientele we’ve had come through our doors over the years,” he says with a smile. “For 18 years, we were for many people the only store they knew, and the diversity of [those] we’ve done business with is something I’m proud of.”

“A few years ago we had a woman come in who had some late fees that were accrued by her daughter, and she wanted her to learn a lesson abut responsibility and asked if we could help. We had the girl work off the late fees by alphabetizing all of the sections in the general part of the store and it ended up taking her a good portion of her Saturday to finish. It was just a good [thing to do] and, for me, the money didn’t matter as much as

helping this mom teach her daughter this lesson. When we announced we were closing, mom and daughter were two of the first people to come in and say how sad they were, and their sincerity meant a lot to me.”

It’s those memories he’s going to miss the most. “The stories, the community, the camaraderie and the ability to give back to LGBT organizations are what’s hardest to say goodbye to,” Chris lamented. “We’ve sponsored softball teams, helped nonprofits with their fundraisers and gone out of our way to represent this community and Capitol Hill proud. Not being able to do that any more – or at least for the time being while I figure out my next step – is a bitter pill to swallow. But we’re not the only one facing this. Our little Gay-owned businesses up here on the Hill have been dropping like flies.”

Just because that’s so, don’t think Chris is giving up on Capitol Hill or the resilience of the diverse group of people who call it home. “I’ve been a Seattle native all my life, and I remember riding my bike up here to [the Hill] since I was 15,” he says with a crooked grin. “This is my home. I love it up here. While the community has changed and become more developed, has turned in some cases into nothing more than a bunch of buildings, that doesn’t mean we have to sit back and accept this transformation.”

“In all honesty I have no idea how we change things back but I still don’t think it’s the end of days for Capitol Hill as we know it. I’m going to stay active in the community, going to keep living on the Hill and keep playing sports and being involved with all the extracurricular activities I plan to continue to enjoy. I have different dreams, different ideas about where I want to go next, and for right now I’m going to keep waking up with a new idea and as soon I find one I’m in love with I plan on being ready to go for it.”

Video Connection is located at 345 15th Avenue East. Its last day of operation will be Sunday, March 7.

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enda

continued from cover

titled “ENDA Now: An Interactive Forum Fighting for LGBT Justice in the Workplace Nationally.”

The two-hour forum, endorsed by the Martin Luther King County Labor Council, Pride at Work, UW Students Organizing for LGBT Equality (SOLE), and the International Socialist Organization, was attended by a broad spectrum of the Seattle LGBT community which spanned all age groups.

ENDA Now consisted of a four-person panel of subject matter experts in organizing, labor, and ENDA categories, a question-and-answer session, a small group action item planning, and a final presentation where each group presented their action ideas to the rest of the forum.

ENDA expands the protections of Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

ENDA Now participants learned that federal employees currently have no statutory protections against sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination; only 12 states have laws forbidding both sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination on the job; it is legal to be fired or not hired for being Gay or Lesbian in 29 states; and in 38 states it is legal to be fired or not hired for being Transgender.

Even in states like Washington that have such laws, ENDA would benefit LGBT workers because it would allow the federal Justice Department to investigate and prosecute cases of discrimination.

The forum began with a short presentation on the history of anti-discrimination acts in the U.S. by Sarah Henderson, a member of SOLE. Mara Keisling, executive director for National Center of Transgender Equality, an LGBT advocacy organization working closely with legislators on ENDA, joined the forum by teleconference from Washington, D.C. Keisling, who is currently in the nation’s capital working to get ENDA passed, told the forum that ENDA is advancing. According to Keisling, the bill has 197 sponsors in the House and 44 in the Senate – more sponsors than any other LGBT bill in history.

She also informed the group that the bill has stalled in the House because of the health care reform debate.

Still, Keisling warned that the House is not considered a problem; it is the Senate that worries her. “The Senate has become a dysfunctional mess,” she said. “They are backed up by 290 bills.”

Keisling encouraged everyone to “do what you do best and do what makes sense.”

She encouraged everyone to hit the streets, educate people about ENDA, and lobby lo-

cal politicians.

ENDA panelist Mike Andrew, secretarytreasurer of Pride at Work, educated ENDA Now attendees about the importance of the LGBT community engaging their allies in the labor movement. Andrew pointed out that “ENDA is important to the Gay community because a majority of our community works.”

According to Andrew, Gay men earn 1032% less than their straight counterparts and are unemployed more than their straight counterparts. In some areas of the country, Andrew said Transgender unemployment is as bad as 60%. In addition, 64% of employed Transgender individuals in the workforce earn less than $25,000 a year.

Marcy Johnsen, a board member and former co-chair of the national Service Employees International Union Lavender Caucus, said she was happy to see so many attend the forum. “The movement has picked up momentum,” she said. “It’s nice to see that we are able to fill a room with people who want to see ENDA passed.”

In contrast, Johnsen says that she is disappointed that we are still fighting for out rights, albeit “with a lot more people and a lot more voices.”

The last panelist to speak, Su Docekal, a Seattle OUTProtest member, gave a brief history lesson about the LGBT employment equality struggle in Seattle since the 1970s.

In a particularly poignant moment, Docekal said the issue surrounding locker room and bathroom usage by Transgender individuals is a “phony argument.” She also expressed her opinion around giving money to the Democratic party. “Time and time again, we’ve given Democratic politicians LGBT money and they have sold us down the river,” Docekal said. “Instead, we need more civil disobedience and marches in the street.”

Docekal also warned the ENDA Now participants of picking one LGBT issue over another. Each issue, from ENDA and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to same-sex marriage equality, is equally important, she said.

After the panel and a brief question-andanswer session, participants broke into small groups, round-table style, and were asked to brainstorm and come up with a local ENDA action plan. The 30-minute discussions produced a number of ideas, with a few themes that seemed to stand out from the rest.

In particular, there seemed to be a unanimous decision that lobbying local politicians who were “on the fence” about ENDA or decidedly against ENDA would be beneficial in the long run. Other ideas included making this year’s 2010 Seattle Gay Pride Parade a political march in favor of passing ENDA, writing letters to the editor of local newspapers, educating the public (including our own community) about ENDA, and leafleting high foot-traffic areas of the city with ENDA literature.

If you are interested in tracking ENDA, visit the national interactive website at www.endanow.com.

fantasia

continued from cover where we can be reasonably comfortable celebrating being LGBT, but also mix with others of completely different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.”

Night FantAsia 2010 was held at Nijo Sushi Bar & Grill (83 Spring St. in downtown Seattle). The venue added a comfortable, friendly touch to the event. Nijo management charged happy hour prices for all food and drink, and Witzoe and Mathews booked a DJ and Seattle drag sensation Aleksa Manila as hostess. In addition to making new friends and meeting old ones, the night was a great way to come together and revel in the diversity of the LGBT community in Seattle.

“Events like Night FantAsia give the ethnic LGBT Asians a chance to come together and celebrate with others who are interested in learning more about their culture,” Mathews told SGN. Since the events inception in 1999, every LGBT Asian event Witzoe and Mathews organize is inspired by the desire to bring the community together to celebrate the diversity of the LGBT Asian culture and foster a greater understanding.

“Originally, Night FantAsia was a monthly event,” said Mathews. “In 2005, the event became yearly.”

The hostess, Aleksa Manila, debuted at Night FantAsia in October 2001. “Through the years, Aleksa has been an important part of this event, and many other events we organize,” Mathews said. “She has such an awe-inspiring connection with the community, as well as a great heart.”

Mathews says Aleksa has been a mentor to many. “We continue to invite Aleksa Manila

back, not only because of her great talent, but also to connect with the past history of the event,” he said.

Night FantAsia is just one of many collaborations between Mathews and Witzoe.

In May, the two organize Syttenede Gay, a Gay Scandinavian event in Ballard. The event is held on May 17, Norway’s Constitution Day. “Much like Night FantAsia, we celebrate the Gay Nordic community and those interested in learning more about them,” said Mathews.

“Another ongoing social event is our happy hour at the offices of Kwanchai once a month,” he said. “We choose a charity in the community at large and raise funds for them. Complimentary appetizers and cocktails are served to invited guests while we educate them about the various charities.”

Kwanchai is located at 511 Boren Ave. N., Suite 100.

“Much of our work is a collaboration between local non-profits, the business community and various talents in the Gay and straight communities,” said Mathews. “We continue to focus on bringing different groups together.”

If you are interested in knowing more about Kwanchai, including upcoming events, visit Mathews and Witzoe online at www.kwanchai.net.

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Seattle Gay News 19

d.c. marriage continued from cover

provide benefits to same-sex spouses.

The Supreme Court’s ruling came in the form of a brief three-page decision by Chief Justice John Roberts. Roberts rejected a last-minute appeal by Bishop Harry Jackson and other opponents of marriage quality to stay – in other words, postpone – implementation of the D.C. law passed December 1, 2009.

“Without addressing the merits of petitioners’ underlying claim, however, I conclude that a stay is not warranted,” Roberts wrote.

Jackson wants to put the new marriage law up for a popular vote, but he has been

repeatedly turned down by the D.C. City Council. He then sued, claiming the council had overstepped its authority when it passed the Initiative, Referendum and Recall Procedures Act (IPA), which the council cited in denying his bid for a referendum.

The case is now before the D.C. Court of Appeals, and Jackson had asked the Supreme Court to prevent any same-sex marriages until the case could be decided.

In his decision, Roberts agreed with the D.C. City Council’s attorney that “it has been the practice of the [Supreme] Court to defer to the courts of the District of Columbia on matters of exclusively local concern.”

Roberts also noted that a “joint resolution of disapproval by Congress would prevent the Act from going into effect, but Congress has chosen not to act.”

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The District of Columbia is locally selfgoverning under congressional administration. Congress has a 30-day review period in which it may overrule D.C. city laws. In this case, it did not do so.

Since the Supreme Court declined to intervene, D.C. officials went on with the process of issuing marriage licenses on schedule.

Marriage Bureau spokesperson Leah Gurowitz described the atmosphere on Wednesday as “festive.”

“As each couple walks out of the Marriage Bureau – and there’s a long line – everybody claps and cheers,” she said. “People have been very festive.”

“Love has won out over fear,” said Rev. Dennis Wiley, co-pastor at Covenant Baptist Church and co-chair of DC Clergy United for Marriage Equality. “Equality has won out over prejudice. Faith has won out over despair.”

Wiley’s sentiments were echoed by national LGBT organizers.

“This is a profoundly moving moment for many D.C. same-sex couples and their families,” NGLTF Executive Director Rea Carey said. “To finally be able to share and celebrate one’s love and commitment both

publicly and legally is a lifelong dream for many.”

HRC President Joe Solmonese said, “Today represents a hard-fought victory for D.C. residents and a poignant reminder – here in the home of our federal government and most cherished national monuments – of the historic progress being made toward ensuring equality for all across the nation.”

D.C.’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese took a much dimmer view of the new law however. The city’s Archbishop had previously threatened to discontinue all his church’s social service charities in D.C. if it passed.

While he backed down from that position, Catholic Charities did suspend its foster care placements so it would not be required to place foster children with same-sex couples.

Catholic Charities also announced on March 1 that it would no longer offer spousal benefits to its employees so it would not have to give benefits to same-sex spouses.

According to the Washington Post, Catholic Charities CEO Edward Orzechowski wrote in a letter to employees: “We sincerely regret that we have to make this change, but it is necessary to allow Catholic Charities to continue to provide essential services to the clients we serve in partnership with the District of Columbia while remaining consistent with the tenets of our religious faith.”

While D.C.’s new marriage law specifically exempts churches from performing samesex weddings if they are contrary to their dogmas, D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Lee Satterfield, who oversees the Marriage Bureau, said that city officials may not refuse to marry same-sex couples.

“You know the law, as I understand it in the District of Columbia, does not allow that when it comes to employees of the court,” he said. “It does so for clergy and others. It allows them to decline. It doesn’t allow for our folk to do so.

“While I don’t discuss personnel matters, what I will say is this: We expect to have anyone doing and officiating weddings to be officiating all weddings.”

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20 Seattle Gay News

March 5, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

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Seattle Gay News 21

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22 Seattle Gay News

March 5, 2010

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Call us at 206.568.2486 Seattle Gay News 23