SGN June 10, 2011 - Section 1

Issue 23 Volume 39

Celebrating 38 Years!

FRIDAY June 10, 2011 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands

PRIDE EVENTS p. 15

30 YEARS ESSAY p. 23

BEGINNERS p. 33 & 38

Seattle Gay News

Our flag

SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY file photo

Community energized by Space Needle’s refusal to fly Pride flag

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Seattle Out & Proud (SO&P), the organization responsible for the annual Seattle Pride Parade, anLast year, the Space Needle nounced to the community (quite made history by hoisting the by accident) that the Space Needle Pride flag atop its spire for the would not be flying the Pride flag this year, and all hell broke loose. first time ever.

The community was jubilant.

THE MEETING It was an affirmation; a symMay 26 started out normally bol that Seattle and the LGBT community that inhabits it (the enough for the board members of second largest in the nation) are SO&P. Organization President in sync. Photos were taken of Adam Rosencrantz, Operations smiling executive directors and VP Jarod Owen, Parade Director prominent LGBT politicians Mike Campbell, Director of Outand advocates as they raised reach Elayne Wylie-Weichers, and Parade Staging Manager Marc the flag for Pride.

In short, it was one of the Ackerman had a clear objective: happiest historic moments this Put together a plan of how SO&P community has ever experi- could work with the Space Needle to celebrate 2011 Seattle Pride. enced.

At approximately 3:30 p.m., That was then. On June 3,

Rosencrantz and company met with Mary Bacarella, vice president of brand management for the Space Needle.

Initially, said Rosencrantz, SO&P had asked the Space Needle Corporation to be a grand marshal in this year’s Pride Parade as a thank-you for flying the flag in 2010.

“From that invitation, a meeting request was made to talk about alternatives to being a grand marshal,” Rosencrantz told Seattle Gay News. “At this time, it was suggested that the flag would not fly this year and there were a few ideas on the table see Pride Flag page 24

2011 Pride Parade Despite Gay teacher’s reservations, school still marshals announced Daniel Hernandez, Armistead Maupin, donates to Salvation Army community leaders among honored Since 1995, the student body of Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek, Washington, has organized and conducted a food drive, donating the collected food and money to the Everett Salvation Army. Three years ago, a complaint was made by an employee of the Everett School District concerning Jackson’s choice of the charity.

That employee is Greg Stair, a fine arts teacher at Everett High School and a teacher’s union representative serving on the Everett Public Schools District Equity and Access Advisory Council. As an open Gay man and the club advisor for his school’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), he believes the Salvation Army is discriminatory towards the LGBT community, and he fails to see why it is allowed into a public school system.

“The Salvation Army has a disturbing policy in regards to the LGBT community,” Stair told Se-

ap photo

courtesy Greg Stair

Greg Stair

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Daniel Hernandez, aide to U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords

Courtesy of Seattle Out and Proud

Seattle Out & Proud (SO&P), a leading non-profit organization that annually produces and promotes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride events and campaigns in the Greater Seattle area, is pleased to announce the Marshals of the 2011 Seattle Pride Parade.

The parade, one of the largest see salvation army page 26 events by attendance in the North-

proud to Be Different

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

west, will take place on Sunday, June 26, starting at 11 a.m., along 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle.

This year’s theme is “Be You. Be Proud. Express Yourself!”

Each year SO&P recognizes and honors community members, LGBT allies, groups, and organizations that have positively impacted our community by inviting them to serve as Marshals of our Seattle Pride Parade. Marshals see marshals page 26

Call us at 206.568.2486

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Seattle Gay News FOUNDED 1973

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Editor In Chief George Bakan Associate Editor Shaun Knittel Editorial Assistant Nick Ardizzone Production William Creswell Calender Editors Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Travel Editor George Bakan Advertising Manager Marty Weisbrod Advertising Department Maggie Bloodstone Executive Assistant Mike Andrew Staff Writers George Bakan, Albert S. Rodriguez, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel, Miryam Gordon, Tim Peter

Portland strikes down Transgender insurance exclusions

Contributing Writers

Classifieds Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Photographers

Nick Ardizzone, Nate Gowdy, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published weekly by Frogs and Ink, Inc. © 2011, Frogs and Ink, Inc., all rights reserved. Reprints by permission.

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.

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Cacophony

Rev. Barbara Allen, Mike Andrew, Eric Andrews-Katz, Madelyn Arnold, Maggie Bloodstone, Beau Burriola, Jessica Davis, Ron Anders, Jessica Price, Milton W. Hamlin, Nevin Jefferson, Keen News Service, Jason A. Miller, Liz Meyer, Rod Parke, Don Paulson, Scott Rice, Leslie Robinson, Richard Kennedy, Romeo San Vicente, Rex Wockner Portland, Oregon, City Hall

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Portland City Council voted unanimously to end health insurance discrimination against Transgender city employees on June 8.

Portland now becomes the third jurisdiction in the country to cover gender transition expenses, including gender reassignment surgeries. The others are Multnomah County – which includes Portland – and San Francisco.

“This is huge,” Basic Rights Oregon said in a statement shortly after the vote.

“Portland is now the third municipality in the country to provide Trans-inclusive care to their employees, and Oregon is a clear leader in the national efforts to end insurance discrimination against Transgender communities.”

Basic Rights Oregon’s Transgender jus-

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

June 10, 2011

tice organizer Aubrey Harrison credited her Trans rights working group and Portland Mayor Sam Adams for the victory.

Adams, who is openly Gay, announced on May 31 that he would sponsor the ordinance and introduce it at the June 8 City Council meeting.

“As mayor, it is important to me that we attract and retain the best and brightest employees to the City of Portland. Offering non-discriminatory health care benefits – as leading employers like Nike, Google, Microsoft, and IBM do – is one way to accomplish that goal,” Adams said in his May 31 statement.

“Covering basic, medically necessary care is a matter of fairness, and it’s the right thing to do.”

Adams noted that the American Medical Association (AMA) has identified Transgender health care as being medically nec-

essary, in a statement released after the June 8 vote.

In 2008, the AMA passed a resolution opposing “exclusions of coverage for treatment of gender identity disorder when prescribed by a physician.”

Portland’s CityCore insurance plan – which covers some 60% of city employees – already provides coverage for prescription medications, including hormone therapy for Trans employees, office visits, mental health counseling, and other benefits.

CityCore is Portland’s self-insurance plan, through which employees pay into a publicly managed fund, which then covers their medical expenses when necessary. Portland city employees who are not covered by CityCore are covered by a private Kaiser plan.

Mayor Adams and all the city commissioners spoke in favor of the new ordinance at the June 8 Council meeting.

“To the Trans community of Portland, who each and every day makes this city a better place, it is my honor and privilege to serve on a City Council that can bring an ounce of fairness in return,” Adams said.

Unlike in Seattle, the Portland mayor is also a voting City Council member. The council also includes four commissioners and an auditor.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz said, “I appreciate living in a city and serving on a City Council where we look at what is the right thing to do … even if it’s not politically popular.”

Commissioner Nick Fish said, “This city does not discriminate; it does not make judgments about people’s status. I believe today is a leadership moment, with the mayor leading us effectively on this issue and I am proud, as a member of this community, to vote aye.”

In testimony at the Council meeting, Basic Rights Oregon’s executive director, Jeana Frazzini, underlined the importance of eliminating exclusions for Trans health care.

“Without health insurance, many Transgender people have no access to health care and have nowhere to turn if they develop health problems,” she said. “This discrimination is all too common and can lead to serious – even life-threatening – conditions.”

According to Adams, the additional cost for adding coverage for sexual reassignment surgery is projected to be only $32,302 out of a total $41,615,000 CityCore budget for 2011-12 – a .08% increase.

“The city believes that adding this coverage is appropriate and does not add a significant cost to the plan,” Adams said.

The City of Seattle is currently considering the adoption of similar benefits.

Currently, 22% of Fortune 100 companies offer Trans-inclusive health care to all their employees.

Celebrating 38 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 10, 2011

Seattle Gay News

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nate gowdy

On Monday, June 6, 2011, King County Councilmember Joe McDermott (center left) introduced the first-ever King County Council proclamation declaring June Gay Pride Month in King County.

Capitol Hill Cycling hits the road for summer courtesy capitol hill cycling

where between a recreational and professional cycling team,” he said. “It’s all about skill building and enjoying each other’s company.”

According to Simonson, the group as a whole has yet to participate in a fundraising event; however, the group has “individual riders who have participated in rides that raise money for muscular dystrophy and AIDS/Lifecycle.”

Those interested in joining the group should ensure that they have a road bike in good working order, know and abide by all

traffic laws, review the ride route before the ride, and carry a patch kit and/or extra tube.

“Summer is here,” said Simonson. “It is a good time to get out of the house and dust off the bike.”

“Because we offer an alternative to the bar and club scene, we are a group that LGBT teens are more than welcome to join,” he said.

If you are interested in joining CHC, email Simonson at capitolhillcycling@groups.facebook.com or find their Facebook events page by typing in “Capitol Hill Cycling.”

Reigh “Rosarita” Stratton

1972-2011

Members of Capitol Hill Cycling

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Capitol Hill Cycling (CHC) is thriving.

The LGBT cycling group is based in Seattle and combines the close-knit friendships and networking of a recreational group with the pace and skill building of a professional cycling team.

According to Jordan Simonson, president and founder of CHC, he started the group to “provide a social event that didn’t revolve around a bar or club.”

“I moved to Seattle from Wisconsin in 2008 and started to seek out people with mutual interests,” he told Seattle Gay News.

“I also wanted to join a group that provided a means to network. CHC is that group. We are all about making connections.”

CHC has been cycling strong since 2008.

The group plans and executes at least

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Seattle Gay News

one ride weekly where (out of the nearly 40 member base) anywhere from six to 12 riders meet up for coffee and then ride somewhere in the Puget Sound area (with a distance goal of 20-60 miles) before ending with a group meal.

The rides, said Simonson, are done at a moderate to fast pace that averages between 16-18 miles per hour.

“For some, depending on how strong of a rider you are, it is a physical challenge,” said Simonson. “For the more experienced riders, it tends to be a lot more social. Along the route there is a lot of chitchat and we joke with one another.”

Still, he says, regardless of how fast or slow a rider you are, CHC makes frequent stops so that those who may be trailing behind can catch up.

“CHC is a group of riders that is some-

June 10, 2011

by Boy Mike Reigh was born on September 18, 1972, in Fresno, CA, and passed away on April 28, 2011, after a brief battle with cancer. Reigh was referred to by most of his friends simply as “Rosarita,” a nickname which seemed to stick after just a few memorable drag performances at Neighbors and the Oz nightclubs in the early ’90s in Seattle. As a teenager, Reigh was called to serve the Lord as a missionary in both Africa and India. Reigh was a “people-person,” always the life of the party, extremely entertaining, funny, and creative. Some of his friends affectionately dubbed him a “drama queen.”

Reigh lived for music. His favorite artist was Madonna. He even snuck into one of her concerts after outfoxing her tight security. His other musical idol was Boy George. Reigh was thrilled to be able to meet and hang out with him on a couple of occasions. Reigh loved the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and had the honor of waiting on many A-list celebrities when he was a caterer at the Kingdome many years ago.

During his lifetime, Reigh lived in Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Diego, working as a waiter at some of the finest restaurants those cities had to offer.

He loved to travel; some of his favorite destinations were New York, San Francisco, Alaska, and London. He had hundreds of friends and family who say he touched their lives very deeply. During his illness, he had people visit him from all over the United States and from as far away as Germany. His Facebook page exploded with hundreds of posts of love and gratitude from people whose lives he had touched. Reigh lived life to the fullest and said he lived a fabulous life and had no regrets.

Perhaps Reigh’s life can be summed up in the lyrics of one of his favorite Boy George songs; “Laughing, screaming, tumbling queen, like the most amazing light show that you’ve ever seen.”

Celebrating 38 Years!

SGN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Nat’l Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Darlene Nipper courtesy National gay and Lesbian Task Force

are something to build common experience on.”

“None of us is just Lesbian, or just Gay, or just Trans,” Nipper continued. “We’re whole people. And when we meet other people at that level there’s a real opportunity to connect.”

Nevertheless, “It’s a complex dynamic,” she warned.

“You want and need to have direct and personal communication. But once you express, you have to live with the consequences. For some people it’s just not safe to be out.”

Referring to NGLTF’s groundbreaking new study of pervasive discrimination against Transgender people, “Injustice At Every Turn,” Nipper said that the report shows “why we fight for federal policies.”

“It’s such a rich report. It’s astounding how much you could see – all the intersections of discrimination and oppression,” Nipper said.

As an African American, Nipper found the data on race “particularly fascinating.”

“For African American [Trans people] in every area of discussion, they experience more discrimination. Intense discrimination,” Nipper pointed out. “There’s not one data point where that’s not true.”

Nipper recalled that as a girl, she spent summers with her grandmother in Anacostia, a neighborhood of Washington, D.C. “In those days, it was the most notorious

neighborhood,” she remembered. “There was high crime, there was violence. You’d think it would be horrible [for LGBT people]. But it wasn’t that way at all.

“There was a sense of insularity. A sense of community of that place – and the place stretches to contain everything that comes out of it.”

“My sister – she still calls herself a Lesbian, but I’ve always seen her as gender nonconforming – my sister never played with dolls when she was little. My uncle used to call her ‘Rock.’ And no one ever told her, ‘Play with dolls, don’t be Rock.’

“I threw my dolls to the dog,” Nipper concluded with a laugh.

Asked to grade President Obama, Nipper shot back, “No grade.”

“In many ways,” she said, “this president is the most LGBT-supportive in history. And we say, ‘Yeah, but can’t we do more?’

“The president has been his own worst enemy because he came into office on a note of very high expectations. We all expected him to do so much. He talked about doing so much. And we started so far behind the starting line – after the previous administration – for us even to get even there would have had to be such an acceleration in social policy.”

“He said to me once – I don’t remember the exact circumstances, but it was during the health care debate – he said, ‘Everybody wants it now.’ And that’s his problem….”

Bar promises another home for Seattle’s Bear community National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Deputy Executive Director Darlene Nipper

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer “We have a very short window of opportunity,” said National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Deputy Executive Director Darlene Nipper. “We have to be focused and directed at getting things done – before the president and every agency head focus exclusively on the election.”

Nipper was in Seattle last week to meet with local Task Force board members and supporters.

“We try to develop ‘pods’ of leaders around the country,” she explained, “and we talk to them pretty regularly to get an idea of what our community folks are thinking and to let them know what the Task Force is doing.”

While here, Nipper spoke with SGN about the work she believes NGLTF could accomplish before the 2012 election campaign goes into high gear.

“Policy,” she said. “Of course we want federal legislation, but Congress – I don’t need to say any more. … We’ve been able to achieve very important advances in policy – on family medical leave, on hospital visitation, counting our families in the census – and we can do more on that front.”

“Right now we’re working piecemeal,” she continued. “Community by community.

Labor contract by labor contract. There’s enormous discrimination, but people have an uneven experience of discrimination.”

“Corporations often lead government in adopting policies to deal with it,” she added.

By “policy,” Nipper means the complex web of administrative procedures and guidelines that determine how LGBT people are treated by government agencies and private employers.

“The reality is, it’s about day-to-day life

and how we experience our day-to-day life,” she insisted. “We’re still in that place – we haven’t really made it beyond – there’s still bullying, there’s still discrimination. But we’re seeing improvements.”

“More in urban areas than in rural – or in the South,” interjected NGLTF staffer Cynde Horne, who was sitting in on the interview.

“That’s why federal policy is so important,” Nipper replied. “There’s not a place in this country the federal government doesn’t reach. The South – there’s so much more work to do.”

“The tools can’t just be based in policy,” she added. “You also have to change hearts and minds, and you have to change the structures of society.”

But, Nipper said, changes in administrative policy can be “a vehicle for changing people’s hearts and minds” and overcoming anti-LGBT bias.

“Policy puts the emphasis in a different place,” Nipper told SGN. “It’s no longer about me personally. It’s about the other person’s job and role. That’s something that’s meaningful to them. If their role is to enforce my union contract, let’s say, they want to do a good job of that no matter what they think of me.

“In a way, you can take people’s beliefs out of it. People say, ‘Policy is related to my job, and in my job, this is how I have to behave.’”

Nipper added that as LGBT people come forward to demand that their needs be met by policy makers and administrators, those people will also become more familiar with the LGBT community.

“It’s all about direct and personal communication with people. Without the law, without the policies, there’s no common experience, because the law, the policies,

Visit us online www.sgn.org

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The bear community is BIG – no pun intended.

Mike Reis, of Luxor Bears fame (a Seattle area private poker club for Gay and Bi bears, cubs, and admirers – cigar and pipe smoking encouraged), has taken notice and, along with his partner Mark Hurst and operations manager Mark Engelmann (with over 20 years experience in Seattle Gay bars), has decided to open a new den for bears to inhabit: 1413 14th Avenue, where the old Martin’s off Madison and the heretoday-gone-tomorrow Greg’s Profanity Hill used to reside.

Reis and company are remaining tightlipped about the details (SGN was permitted an interview sans photos and agreed not to print the name of the new bar) but say they will make announcements as more aspects of the bar are put into place. In short, they are still in the planning stages, and construction has just begun.

Reis told SGN that although he is associated with Luxor Bears, the new bar is a separate venture from the private club. “The bar will exist in the public domain and, as such, will fully comply with all state liquor laws.”

There is no due date for the bar’s grand opening. “We don’t want to promise anything,” he said. “There is a lot left to do before we can open our doors.”

From the outside, the building shows little to no change. But it’s what’s inside that is going to be a shocker, said Reis. “We are doing a complete overhaul of the inside. It’s going to be very Motor City meets industrial blue-collar. In a sense, we are going to under-promise and over-deliver. I think people will like what they see. There will be surprises and twists.”

First and foremost, it will be a bar, Reis explained, but food will be offered. “Our agenda is to steer away from doing 20 things and do 10 things well. We have a ful-

June 10, 2011

ly equipped kitchen and we intend to use it to that capacity.”

Reis said that the bar is something that he put a lot of time and thought into. “This is not a fly-by-night venture. It’s been one year in the making,” he said.

According to Reis, the bear community “has experienced a loss of identity. There is no ‘home’ feeling.” He said that for every sub-group of our community, there exists a bar they call home. While he acknowledges that the re-opening of C.C. Attle’s is a good thing, he’d still like to see a place that bears can call home. So, he decided to create one.

“We [bears] are here, and we are highly visible members of the community,” said Reis. “But nothing is assigned to us where we are the main attraction.”

Although the new bar will cater to the bear community, Reis promises it will also be “inclusive, not exclusive.”

“The bear community started out of inclusivity,” he said. “We didn’t fit in anywhere.

We are bigger guys and we don’t look like twinks or gym bunnies, or any other group.

We got tired of going to exclusive bars, which only cater to one type. So we created our own group but have always been inclusive, so everyone is welcome.”

Still, said Reis, the bar will be a “bona fide offering – we will be a bear bar in good faith.”

Seattle Gay News

9

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Amina Arraf – who blogs under the names “Gay Girl in Damascus” and “Amina Abdallah” – was reported to have been kidnapped

by Syrian authorities on June 6.

She immediately became the focus of an international online campaign to pressure the Syrian government to free her, as Queer bloggers picked up the news from each other and passed it along.

But by June 8, many journalists following the case began to question whether she exists at all.

Although her blog attracted international attention as Syria’s Baathist regime became the target of a mass popular uprising, NPR reporter and Mideast expert Andy Carvin could find no one – in or out of Syria’s LGBT community – who had ever met her.

Carvin researched his story by following up on Twitter posts to the account #FreeAmina, which had been set up to organize support for her release. While many people expressed their support, not one said they personally knew her.

Arraf – or someone claiming to be Arraf – has been quoted in The Washington Post, CNN, Time magazine, and the British newspaper The Guardian, but Carvin discovered that the interviews were all done via email, not by phone, much less face-to-face.

Sandra Bagaria of Montreal, who told Fox News reporters that she was Arraf’s “girlfriend” in a June 6 interview, later revealed to The New York Times that she had corresponded with Arraf only online and had never actually seen her in person.

The U.S. State Department said that it was

working to confirm reports that Arraf had been born in Virginia and was, therefore, a U.S. citizen entitled to government protection, but reportedly it could not find records of her birth.

Photos purporting to be of Arraf have been taken down from her blog and other websites supporting her when Jelena Lecic, a Croatian woman who works as an administrator at the Royal College of Physicians in London, complained that they were actually her photos.

“I pray that Amina is safely returned to her family but I want to make it quite clear that I am not her, despite my photographs being attached to this story,” Lecic said in a press release.

Lecic added that her identity has been stolen before by Arraf. At least a year ago, Lecic said, friends called her asking about a Facebook account that she had not created, but which used her photos.

Lecic has hired a London publicist, Julian Just, to handle her relations with the media.

The individual who posted the account of Arraf’s abduction on her “Gay Girl in Damascus” blog, identifying herself as Arraf’s cousin “Rania O. Ismail,” has not replied to email inquiries from reporters.

An American blogger who claimed to have been corresponding with Arraf reportedly traced her IP address to Scotland.

It would not be unusual for a pro-democracy journalist – especially an out Lesbian – to assume an alternative identity for personal safety in a country governed by a ruthless dictatorship. Nor would it be out of the question for someone in the Syrian exile community to run an anti-government blog.

Carvin, for example, believes that Arraf is

CDC report: LGB students at greater risk for unsafe behavior

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Students who report being Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual (LGB) and students who report having sexual contact only with persons of the same sex or both sexes are more likely than heterosexual students and students who report having sexual contact only with the opposite sex to engage in unhealthy risk behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual risk behaviors, suicidal behaviors, and violence, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“This report should be a wake-up call for families, schools, and communities that we need to do a much better job of supporting these young people. Any effort to promote adolescent health and safety must take into account the additional stressors these

10 Seattle Gay News

youth experience because of their sexual orientation, such as stigma, discrimination, and victimization,” said Howell Wechsler, Ed.D, M.P.H, director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH).

“We are very concerned that these students face such dramatic disparities for so many different health risks.”

This report represents the first time that the federal government has conducted an analysis of this magnitude across a wide array of states, large urban school districts, and risk behaviors.

According CDC officials, researchers analyzed data from Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) conducted during 2001-2009 in seven states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin) and six large urban school districts (Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York City, San Diego, and San Francisco.)

“These sites collected data on high school students’ sexual identity (heterosexual, Gay or Lesbian, Bisexual, or unsure), sex of sexual contacts (sexual contact with the opposite sex only, with the same sex only, or with both sexes), or both,” report CDC officials.

The study, “Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health Risk Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9-12 in Selected Sites – Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, United States, 2001-2009,” was published

June 10, 2011

bbc

The case of the Syrian Lesbian

Jelena Lecic claims photos of Amina Arraf are actually photos of her

a real person, but is someone “who expresses herself better online than offline.”

However, in addition to questions about the true identity of “Gay Girl in Damascus,” there are also serious questions about whether her posts are fact or fiction.

In one post titled “My Father, My Hero,” for example, Arraf claims that Syrian security officers visited her house, only to be faced down by her father.

“She is my daughter, and she is who she is and if you want her, you must take me as

well,” she quotes her father as saying.

Given the Assad regime’s brutal suppression of dissent, journalists have questioned whether actual Syrian security officers would have left either father or daughter alive, let alone unarrested.

NPR’s Carvin also reported that some of Arraf’s recent blog posts seem to be reposts of material dating back as far as 2007.

The “Gay Girl in Damascus” blog has not been updated since the report of Arraf’s abduction on June 6.

as a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Surveillance Summary.

Findings across 76 health risks in the following 10 categories are highlighted: • Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries (e.g., rarely or never wore a seat belt) • Behaviors that contribute to violence (e.g., did not go to school because of safety concerns) • Behaviors related to attempted suicide (e.g., made a suicide plan) • Tobacco use (e.g., ever smoked cigarettes) • Alcohol use (e.g., binge drinking) • Other drug use (e.g., current marijuana use) • Sexual behaviors (e.g., condom use) • Dietary behaviors (e.g., ate vegetables three or more times per day) • Physical activity and sedentary behaviors (e.g., physically active at least 60 minutes per day for seven days) • Weight management (e.g., did not eat for 24 hours or more to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight) Across the sites that assessed sexual identity, Gay or Lesbian students had higher prevalence rates for 49% to 90% of all health risks measured. Specifically, Gay or Lesbian students had higher rates for seven of the 10 health risk categories (behaviors that contribute to violence, behaviors related to attempted suicide, tobacco use, alcohol use, other drug use, sexual behaviors, and weight management).

Similarly, Bisexual students had higher prevalence rates for 57% to 86% of all health risks measured. They also had higher

rates for eight of the 10 health risk categories (behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries, behaviors that contribute to violence, behaviors related to attempted suicide, tobacco use, alcohol use, other drug use, sexual behaviors, and weight management).

“For youth to thrive in their schools and communities, they need to feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe and supported,” said Laura Kann, Ph.D., chief, Surveillance and Evaluation Research Branch, DASH. “Schools and communities should take concrete steps to promote healthy environments for all students, such as prohibiting violence and bullying, creating safe spaces where young people can receive support from caring adults, and improving health education and health services to meet the needs of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual youth.”

According to CDC officials, national, state, and local YRBSs are conducted every two years among high school students throughout the U.S. These surveys monitor health risk behaviors, including unintentional injuries and violence; tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use; sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection; unhealthy dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity. These surveys also monitor the prevalence of obesity and asthma. Interested states and large urban school districts may add questions to measure sexual identity and the sex of sexual contacts.

Youth Risk Behavior Survey results are available at www.cdc.gov/yrbs.

“This report should be a wake-up call for families, schools, and communities that we need to do a much better job of supporting these young people.”

Celebrating 38 Years!

NORTHWEST

NEWS

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

SEE THE PRIDE EVENTS CALENDAR IN THIS WEEK’S SGN FOR A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF UPCOMING PRIDE-RELATED EVENTS

ALL THINGS JAPANESE SALE – JAPANESE CULTURAL AND COMMUNITY CENTER JUNE 10-11 The Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington (JCCCW) is holding its first ever All Things Japanese Sale on Friday, June 10, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and Saturday, June 11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Cultural Center (1414 S. Weller St.). The sale will feature a wide variety of Japanese items including dolls, furniture, fans, traditional dress, jewelry, art, books, plush toys, tableware and much, much more. There will be something for everyone with over one thousand antiques and collectibles on sale and prices starting at just $0.25. All of the proceeds raised at the sale will go toward supporting the mission of JCCCW to preserve, promote and share Japanese and Japanese American culture and heritage. 206-568-7114; www. jcccw.org.

THE GENE POOL AT THE ANNEX THEATRE From June 3 to June 19, on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. with an additional performance on Sunday, June 19, at 2 p.m., at The Annex Theatre (1100 E. Pike St., 2nd Floor), Arouet presents the Seattle premiere of The Gene Pool.

Meet the Grays – an average family. Mira cooks, cleans, wears dresses, is sexually frustrated, and her spouse is a workaholic veterinarian. Their son is almost 18, has a new girlfriend that he wants to lose his virginity with, and is always hungry. The only way in which this family is not conventional is that the parents are Lesbians. What happens when their son wants to know who his dad is? The Gene Pool explores the family’s relationships and how they are dealing with their mid-life crises, their son’s resolution to lose his virginity, and ... oh yeah, his question, “Moms, who is my Dad?” Tickets: $12-$18 general admission. Reservations at 425-298-3852 or boxoffice@ arouet.us or www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/174247. $10 rush tickets will be sold 5 minutes before showtime, depending on availability. http://arouet.us.

CAPTAIN SMARTY PANTS “GOES BOOKISH” AND SENSIBLE SHOES “GOES DIVA” AT TOWN HALL The Seattle Men’s Chorus’ small ensemble, Captain Smarty Pants, performs “Eat, Pray, Pant” on Friday and Saturday, June 10 at 8 p.m. and June 11 at 9 p.m., at Town Hall (1119 8th Ave. at Seneca St.).

Whether it’s The Velveteen Rabbit, The Valley of the Dolls, or The Shining, we all have our favorite books. Captain Smartypants brings ten of their all-time favorite books to musical life as only these snappy boys can. In “Eat, Pray, Pant” Captain Smarty Pants sings and dances their way through Yertle the Turtle, Twilight, The Wizard of Oz, Frankenstein, The Joy of Gay Sex, Alice in Wonderland, and The Odyssey among others. Classics like Wuthering Heights and Dante’s Inferno get the 30-second threatment, Mario Puzo tries his hand at writing kid’s books and Shakespeare gets updated a la Riverdance. Librarians will be on hand at the show to sign you up for a library card.

The Seattle Women’s Chorus’ small ensemble, Sensible Shoes, performs “Viva La Diva” on Saturday, June 11 at 7 p.m., at Town Hall (1119 8th Ave. at Seneca St.).

This like-minded small ensemble is made up of members of Seattle Women’s Chorus who enjoy discovering their inner “Diva.”

From the Girls Groups of the ‘60s to the Rockers of the ‘80s and beyond, they will

leave no bra unturned as they explore the sassy, sexy world of the female singing groups, including: the Angels, the Ronnettes, Joan Jett, Cyndi Lauper, Joni Mitchell, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and more. The song list includes Swinging on a Star, Lollipop, Express Yourself, Big Yellow Taxi, Da Doo Ron Ron, One Fine Day, Be My Baby, My Boyfriend’s Back, Toxic, Pocketful of Sunshine, We Got the Beat, Walk Like an Egyptian, I Love Rock and Roll and a few of Sensible Shoes’ patented parodies.

Both shows are recommended for mature audiences only.

Tickets: $20-$45 advance; $25-$40 at the door; premium table seating is $35-$50 with limited availability. 206-388-1400; www. flyinghouse.org.

SEATTLE PRIDE IDOL On Sundays through June 19, door at 6 p.m., competition at 7 p.m., at Neighbours (1509 Broadway, entrance in alley off E. Pike St. between Broadway and Harvard), join Seattle Out and Proud (SO&P) for Seattle’s Pride Idol talent competition to see who will represent Seattle Out & Proud on the Pride Idol Float in the Seattle Pride Parade on Sunday, June 26. Wildcard June 12, finale June 19. For complete details, visit www.seattlepride.com.

TAPROOT THEATRE HOSTS “NEIGHBORS AND STRANGERS”– A COMMUNITY DISCUSSION ON DIVERSITY AND RACE On Monday, June 13, at 7 p.m., Taproot Theatre Company (204 N 8th St. just west of Greenwood Ave. N.) hosts “Neighbors and Strangers: Discussing Diversity and the Experience of Race in Seattle.” Expanding on the themes of their current show, Brownie Points, Taproot has invited a panel of guests – including Pastor Patrinell Wright and her Total Experience Gospel Choir – to engage in a conversation about diversity and the exSEATTLE FRONTRUNNERS perience of race in Seattle.

UNDERWEAR FASHION SHOW The event is free but RSVP is required FUNDRAISER AT R-PLACE as seating is limited. For questions and to On Friday, June 10, 9 p.m., at R Place RSVP contact Sonja Lowe at 206-529-3666 (619 E. Pine St. at Boylston Ave.), Seattle or sonjal@taproottheatre.org.

Frontrunners and Lady Chablis are hosting a pre-Run and Walk with Pride 2011 underFREEDOM SOCIALIST PARTY – wear fashion show fundraiser with music by REVOLUTION IN NORTH AFRICA Vintage Youth. $5 suggested donation. The On Monday, June 13, at 7 p.m., at New Run and Walk with Pride 2011 will be held Freeway Hall (5018 Rainier Ave. S.), join June 19. www.seattlefrontrunners.org. the FSP for a presentation and discussion of the ongoing revolution in North Africa.

CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY From Egypt to Yemen, dictators are on the GARAGE SALE DAY JUNE 11 run – or already toppled. Learn more about On Saturday, June 11, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., join the forces driving the upsurge in North AfCapitol Hill neighbors throughout the Hill rica and the Middle East: who are the key and at the community space at Federal Ave. players, what kind of labor movement exists E. & E. Republican St. for a neighborhood in these various countries, and why does the wide garage/rummage/yard sale. For more U.S. remain silent about repression in Saudi information, visit www.capitolhillgarag- Arabia while bombing Libya? Join the disesale.com. cussion. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. for a $7 donation. 206-722-2453 or FSPseSEATTLE CENTER FESTAL – attle@mindspring.com.

BLACK ARTS FEST On Saturday, June 11, noon-8 p.m., and SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN Sunday, June 12, noon-6 p.m., at Seattle BOOK CLUB – Center’s Center House, Fisher Pavilion and ANDRE GIDE’S Seattle Center Pavilion, Festival Sundiata THE COUNTERFEITERS presents Black Arts Fest 2011, an exploraThe Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club tion of the culture of African-Americans liv- meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Duning in the Pacific Northwest. Participate in shee House (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas the art of creating beautiful quilts, learn tra- St.). All GLBTQ folks in the community are ditional drumming rhythms, discover soul- welcome to participate in this FREE book ful cuisine from a selection of food vendors club. and experience the richness of black culture.

The book for June is Andre Gide’s The Enjoy a literary cafe, gospel explosion, art Counterfeiters, one of the all-time masterexhibit and sale, history exhibit,, commu- pieces by a Gay author. The novel won Gide nity drill teams, geneology sessions, film the Nobel Prize in 1924 and mixes Gay and documentary, and more, during a weekend straight characters in the same way as Iris filled with continuous entertainment. The Murdoch’s A Fairly Honourable Defeat and festival will educate the community and cel- Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty. ebrate people of African descent. www.fesThe Counterfeiters has nothing to do with tivalsundiata.org; www.seattlecenter.com. fake money. It’s about people who are fake and deceive, and it’s an unforgettable read“BOYS WILL BE GIRLS” AND ing experience. There are a zillion things to “EMPEROR’S REVENGE” discuss and it’s so rich we may well continAT NEIGHBOURS ue with our discussions into July.

On Saturday, June 11, door at 6:30 p.m., For more information, email nickdimarshow at 7 p.m., at Neighbours (1509 Broad- tin@earthlink.net or contact Dunshee House way, entrance in alley off E. Pike St. be- at 206-322-2437. tween Broadway and Harvard Ave.), it’s time again for Emperor’s Turnabout and GSBA BUSINESS LUNCHEON – “Boys Will Be Girls” when the Drag Queens PRIDE AND TOURISM transformed the “Boys” into Divas! Join in On Wednesday, June 15, from 11:30 a.m.the fun with special performances by all of 1:30 p.m., at Columbia Tower Club (701 the “new queens.” $5 suggested donation.

5th Ave., Suite 7500), join the Greater SeOn Sunday, June 12, door at 6:30 p.m., attle Business Association for their monthly show at 7 p.m., at Neighbours (1509 Broad- business luncheon. John Tanzella from the way), it’s payback time and “Emperor’s International Gay and Lesbian Travel AssoRevenge” when the Emperor and his crew ciation will be the featured speaker. Cost is get their revenge. They will be creating their $34-members, $39-nonmembers, $34-stuvery own drag masterpiece on the faces of dents. To RSVP, visit www.thegsba.org or the queens from the night before. This is call 206-363-9188. This event is co-presentcertain to be a great show full of fun and en- ed by the Seattle Convention and Visitors tertainment. In fact, you’ll be laughing your Bureau. socks off. $5 suggested donation.

Sponsored by the Imperial Sovereign FREMONT FAIR & Court of Seattle.

SOLSTICE PARADE Fremont Fair meets on Saturday, June 18, from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (with the main stage and beer garden open until 10 p.m.) and Sunday, June 19, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., at N. 34th St. & Fremont Ave. N. Solstice Parade on Saturday, June 18, starts at noon. www.fremontfair.org.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 10, 2011

ARTISTS FOR JAPAN JAMFEST On Saturday, June 18, from noon-8:30 p.m., KOBO at Higo (604 S. Jackson), presents an afternoon and evening of music, featuring Hey Marseilles accordionist, Philip Kobernik, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., with 100% of proceeds benefitting the Ashinaga Foundation, which provides support for the education of children who have lost their parents or guardians in the recent earthquake and tsunami. http://artistsforjapan.blogspot. com. 206-381-3000.

NORTHWEST COFFEE FESTIVAL JUNE 18-19 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at Seattle Center, Fisher Pavilion. $15. www.nwcoffeefestival.com SEATTLE CENTER FESTAL – IRANIAN FESTIVAL On Saturday, June 18, 11 a.m.-11 p.m., at Seattle Center, Center House, Seattle Center’s Festal presents the Iranian Festival, which offers exploration and insights into the culture of Iran. Presented by the Iranian American community Alliance. For a full event schedule, visit www.iaca-seattle.org.

PICNIC AT THE EAST PRECINCT On Saturday, June 18, from 1-4 p.m., at the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct (1519 12th Ave. at E. Pine St.), all East Precinct residents are invited to a Picnic at the East Precinct, with free food, dancing and children’s activities, featuring live music by Land of Pines. Meet your local officers and tke a precinct tour.

MEN OF ALL COLORS AND CULTURES TOGETHER JUNE POTLUCK SOCIAL On Saturday, June 18, at 6 p.m., call for Seattle (98118) location, join Men of All Colors and Cultures Together for their June Potluck Social. For more information and location, call 206-923-8313 or email macctseattle@yahoo.com.

SEATTLE RAINBOW CONTRA DANCE On Saturdays, 6/18, no dance 7/2 or 7/9, resumes 7/16, at Ballard Odd Fellows Hall (1706 NW Market St.), join LGBTQ folks and friends (and all who want to dance) for this fun, easy-to-learn, easy-to-dance, gender-neutral contra dance, with live calling and live bluegrass music. No experience or partner necessary. All dances taught. Free lesson at 7 p.m. Dance from 7:30-10 p.m.

Cost is $8.

Organizers suggest bringing water to drink. A bin for non-perishable food donations is available at the hall. Please come fragrance free in consideration of those with allergies. Bring a dry shirt to change into if you sweat a lot. No drunkenness, rude or abusive behavior will be tolerated. http://seattledance.org/contra/rainbow; YouTube: Seattle Rainbow Contra Dance.

CAPTAIN SMARTYPANTS “EAT, PRAY, PANT” On Sunday, June 19, at 7:30 p.m., at All Pilgrim’s Christian Church (500 Broadway E. at E. Republican St.), join Captain Smartypants for selections from their latest concert, “Eat, Pray, Pant.” $15 donation at the door.

ARGOSY CRUISES OFFERS PRIDE CRUISE ON ELLIOTT BAY WITH DINNER BUFFET AND CELEBRITY IMPERSONATOR SHOW On Friday, June 24, Argosy Cruises hosts a 2-1/2 hour LGBT Pride dinner cruise with a hilarious Celebrity Impersonator Show featuring Joan Rivers, Cher, Janis Joplin, Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga and Sarah Palin.

Come expecting lots of audience participation, including a FAB “AB” contest! All this while enjoying a fabulous dinner buffet on the waters of Elliott Bay. For reservations and information, call 206-623-1445 or visit www.argosycruises. com.

Seattle Gay News 11

12 Seattle Gay News

June 10, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 10, 2011

Seattle Gay News 13

June 24th, 7 PM – midnight Pravda Studios, 1406 10th Avenue, Seattle AgeS 13 And uP! $5 Suggested donation

(proceeds benefit GLSEN Washington State)

7 – 8 PM: Opening Act (TBD) 8 PM – midnight: dJ dance party with dJ *V* 10 PM: Lady Gaga look-a-like contest, prizes TBD Light refreshments will be provided.

Guests will receive a wristband for free entry to Neighbours after 2 AM (18+ only)

Tickets available at: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/174990 Having a ticket guarantees entry. Limited quantities available at the door.

Thanks to Seattle Gay News, Panache, Pac Med, PFLAG, SO&P, Court of Seattle, Central Co-Op Entertainment provided by Antrim Music Productions (AMP)

14 Seattle Gay News

June 10, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

PRIDE EVENTS

CALENDAR

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer CAPTAIN SMARTY PANTS “GOES BOOKISH” AND SENSIBLE SHOES “GOES DIVA” AT TOWN HALL JUNE 10-11

SEATTLE FRONTRUNNERS UNDERWEAR FASHION SHOW FUNDRAISER On Friday, June 10, at 9 p.m. at R Place (619 E. Pine St. at Boylston Ave.), the Seattle Frontrunners with Lady Chablis will host an underwear fashion show featuring music

by Vintage Youth. $5 suggested donation to benefit Seattle Frontrunners Run and Walk

2011 SOAP PRIDE IDOL On Sundays through June 19, join Seattle Out and Proud (SO&P) at the 2011 Pride Idol competition at Neighbours (1509 Broadway - entrance in alley between Harvard and Broadway off E. Pike St.). Doors at 6 p.m., contest at 7 p.m. Wildcard round on June 12; finale on June 19 and the winner will perform on the Pride Idol Float in the Seattle Pride Parade on Sunday, June 26. No cover. www.seattlepride.org.

6-10 p.m. (main stage and snack vendors only), Saturday, June 18, from noon-9 p.m., and Sunday, June 19, from noon-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday includes a full line-up of speakers and entertainment, community information and vendor and food booths. The Portland Dyke March will be held on Saturday, June 18, line-up at 5 p.m., step-off at 6 p.m., from N. Park Ave. and W. Burnside St. and follow the Sunday Pride Parade route to Tom McCall Waterfront Park. See website for route map. www.pridenw.com. On Sunday, June 19, at 11:30 a.m., the Pride Parade GSBA JUNE PRIDE steps off from NW 13th and W. Burnside & TOURISM LUNCHEON On Wednesday, June 15, from 11:30 a.m.- and travels through downtown Portland to 1:30 p.m., at the Columbia Tower Club the Pride Festival at Tom McCall Waterfront (701 5th Ave., 75th floor), the GSBA will Park. See website for route map and more details. www.pridenw.com.

The Seattle Men’s Chorus’ small ensemble, Captain Smarty Pants, performs “Eat, Pray, Pant” on Friday and Saturday, June 10 at 8 p.m. and June 11 at 9 p.m., at Town Hall (1119 8th Ave. at Seneca St.).

Whether it’s The Velveteen Rabbit, The Valley of the Dolls, or The Shining, we all have our favorite books. Captain Smartypants brings ten of their all-time favorite books to musical life as only these snappy boys can. In “Eat, Pray, Pant” Captain Smarty Pants sings and dances their way through Yertle the Turtle, Twilight, The Wizard of Oz, Frankenstein, The Joy of Gay Sex, Alice in Wonderland, and The Odyssey among others. Classics like Wuthering Heights and Dante’s Inferno get the 30-second threatment, Mario Puzo tries his hand at writing kid’s books and Shakespeare gets updated a la Riverdance. Librarians will be on hand at the show to sign you up for a library card.

The Seattle Women’s Chorus’ small ensemble, Sensible Shoes, performs “Viva La Diva” on Saturday, June 11 at 7 p.m., at Town Hall (1119 8th Ave. at Seneca St.).

This like-minded small ensemble is made up of members of Seattle Women’s Chorus who enjoy discovering their inner “Diva.”

From the Girls Groups of the ‘60s to the

with Pride to be held June 19. www.seattle- kick off Pride month with an exciting look into the multi-billion dollar LGBT tourism frontrunners.org. industry with John Tanzella, President and CEO of the International Gay and Lesbian OUTSPOKANE Travel Association. The Pride & Tourism PRESENTS Luncheon is the grand unveiling of the SPOKANE PRIDE PARADE new GSBA 2011-2012 Guide & Directory. & RAINBOW FESTIVAL On Saturday, June 11, at noon, the 20th annual Spokane Pride Parade will step off from Wall Street (between Spokane Falls Blvd. and Main St.) and travel through the downtown Spokane business district in a rectangular formation before arriving at Gondola Meadows in Riverfront Park for the Rainbow Festival. This year’s theme is “Accept All: No Exceptions.”

For more information, visit www.outspokane.com.

Rockers of the ‘80s and beyond, they will leave no bra unturned as they explore the sassy, sexy world of the female singing groups, including: the Angels, the Ronnettes, Joan Jett, Cyndi Lauper, Joni Mitchell, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and more. The song list includes Swinging on a Star, Lollipop, Express Yourself, Big Yellow Taxi, Da Doo Ron Ron, One Fine Day, Be My Baby, My Boyfriend’s Back, Toxic, Pocketful of Sunshine, We Got the Beat, Walk Like an Egyptian, I Love Rock and Roll and a few of Sensible Shoes’ patented parodies.

Both shows are recommended for mature audiences only.

Tickets: $20-$45 advance; $25-$40 at the door; premium table seating is $35-$50 with limited availability. 206-388-1400; www. flyinghouse.org

will headline the weekend. Pop star Xavier Toscano from the Bar Area will also perform during the two full days of entertainment. The line-up will also feature a special 20th anniversary concert by Pacific Northwest musical theatre actors. On Sunday, June 12, at noon, the 20th annual Pride Parade steps off from the State Capitol Building, traveling through downtown Olympia to the festival grounds at Sylvester Park. Food, vendor booths, a kids area and a beer garden will be open both days at the Festival.

For a complete schedule of entertainment, visit capitalcitypride.net.

CAPITAL CITY PRIDE FESTIVAL & PRIDE PARADE IN OLYMPIA On Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12, from noon-5 p.m., Capital City Pride hosts their 20th annual Pride Festival at Sylvester Park (Capitol Way S. and Legion Way SW). The two-day festival is gearing up to be the largest-ever. R&B recording artist and Broadway star Shoshana Bean

ALL COMMUNITY PRIDE KICK-OFF PICNIC On Saturday, June 11, at 3 p.m., at Carkeek Park, 950 NW Carkeek Park Rd., an ad hoc All Community Pride Kick-Off Picnic will be held.

“UNTIL THE FAT LADY SINGS…” A BENEFIT SHOW FOR AIDS HOUSING ASSOCIATION OF TACOMA On Friday, June 17, pre-show reception at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m., at the Blue Mouse Theater (2611 North Proctor, Tacoma), see the Northwest’s best drag queens in a benefit show for AIDS Housing Association of Tacoma (AHAT). Must be 18+.

Tickets: $20-includes pre-show reception; $10-general admission; at the door or www. aidshousingtacoma.org. 253-272-5533.

Cost is $34-members, $39-nonmembers, SEATTLE DYKE MARCH $34-students. RSVP at www.thegsba.org or BENEFIT AT TOMMY GUN 206-363-9188. The GSBA (Greater Seattle On Friday, June 17, at 8 p.m., at Tommy Business Association) is Greater Seattle’s Gun (1703 E. Olive Way, between Boylston LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

Ave. E. and Harvard Ave. E.), join Seattle Dyke March supporters for a fundraising RADICAL WOMEN PRESENTS benefit to finance this year’s Dyke March.

SCREAMING QUEENS: The Dyke March has been very lucky, beTHE RIOT AT cause due to the hard work of several folks a COMPTON’S CAFETERIA On Thursday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m., at few years back we were able to raise enough New Freeway Hall (5018 Rainier Ave. S.), money to operate for three years with miniRadical Women presents a video screening mal additions needed. But now, we are back of Screaming Queens: The Riot at Comp- on our own and need to meet our budget ton’s Cafeteria. This documentary delves requirements. So it’s time for a party! With into the little-known story of a 1966 riot in fabulous raffle prizes and an excellent DJ. San Francisco when a collective uprising All of your $10 cover will go to support the against the social oppression of Queer peo- Dyke March. www.seattledykemarch.com ple took place, three years before the famous INDEPENDENT LENS: Gay riots at New York City’s Stonewall Inn. TWO SPIRITS $3-$5 suggested donation. (Dinner, with a COMMUNITY CINEMA vegetarian option, will be available at 6:30 On Saturday, June 18, at 2 p.m., at the p.m. for $7.50 donation.) For more information, rides or childcare, call 206-722-6057 Frye Art Museum (704 Terry Ave.), join or 722-2453. Everyone welcome. Wheel- KCTS 9 and Community Cinema for a FREE, exclusive pre-screening of Indepenchair accessible. dent Lens: Two Spirits. Fred Martinez was a male-bodied boy with a feminine nature, INDEPENDENT LENS: a special gift according to his Navajo culTWO SPIRITS ture. Martinez was brutally murdered at 16.

COMMUNITY CINEMA On Thursday, June 16, at 6 p.m., at the Two Spirits explores the life and death of a Washington State History Museum (1911 boy who was also a girl and the essentially Pacific Ave., Tacoma), join KCTS 9 and spiritual nature of gender. Two Spirits will Community Cinema for a FREE, exclusive broadcast on KCTS TV, Ch. 9, on Monday, pre-screening of Independent Lens: Two June 27, at 10 p.m.

Spirits. Fred Martinez was a male-bodied BAT N’ ROUGE XIII boy with a feminine nature, a special gift THE DYKES VS DRAG QUEENS according to his Navajo culture. Martinez PRIDE WEEK KICKOFF GAME was brutally murdered at 16. Two Spirits exAT CAL ANDERSON PARK plores the life and death of a boy who was On Saturday, June 18, from 5-8 p.m., at also a girl and the essentially spiritual nature of gender. Two Spirits will broadcast on Bobby Morris Playfield in Cal Anderson KCTS TV, Ch. 9, on Monday, June 27, at 10 Park (11th Ave. and E. Howell St.), the Capitol Hill Alano Club presents Bat N’ Rouge p.m.

XIII – The Dykes vs. Drag Queens’s Pride Week Kickoff Game with your host Gaysha PORTLAND PRIDE WEEKEND Starr. Bat N’ Rouge is a fundraising event JUNE 17-19 Portland Pride Festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, on Friday, June 17, from see pride calendar page 16

Come meet Tim and Matt and join the family.

Go 1605 12th Avenue at Pine, Seattle (In liquor store parking garage.) Seattle Storm!

206-838-6027 or 206-898-4306 Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 10, 2011

Seattle Gay News 15

pride calendar continued from page 15

to benefit Capitol Hill Alano Club, which has an ongoing mission of drug and alcohol recovery. CHAC is a nonprofit organization now in its 28th year of service in the Seattle LGBT community.

For more information, visit www.chacseattle.org.

KITSAP PRIDE PRESENTS SEATTLE MEN’S CHORUS’ “HEARTTHROBS” CONCERT IN BREMERTON On Saturday, June 18, at 7 p.m., at the Admiral Theatre (515 Pacific Ave., Bremerton), the Seattle Men’s Chorus presents “Heartthrobs.” Get ready to scream and faint with excitement as Seattle Men’s Chorus thrills fans of all generations with a musical look at America’s singing heartthrobs – the boy bands! This high-energy program pays tribute to six decades of male singing groups, from the Ink Spots to the Jonas Brothers, with a host of other swoon-worthy acts – like the Beatles, the Bee Gees, the Temptations, Earth, Wind & Fire, Menudo, the Backstreet Boys, and ‘N Sync – sandwiched in between. Tickets: $14, $23, $29.

360-373-6743; www.admiraltheatre.org.

“THE REAL RICE QUEENS OF SEATTLE – PRIDE + INSPIR/ASIAN” On Saturday, June 18, 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show, at Neighbours Nightclub (1509 Broadway, entrance in alley off E. Pike St. between Broadway and Harvard Ave.), join Gaysha Starr, Aleksa Manila and Gene Osias for a special Pride show, “The Real Rice Queens of Seattle - Pride + Inspir/ Asian.” Tickets $10 at the door. Presented by the Asian Pacific Islander International Council.

ORCA SWIM TEAM’S “BLOW HOLE” UNDERWEAR PARTY On Saturday, June 18, at 9 p.m., at The Lobby (916 E. Pike St.) join the Orca Swim Team for a fun evening with swimmers in Speedos, go-go boys and girls, Daniel Webster underwear and swimsuit modeling, drink specials, music by DJ Chris Bresemann, and special debut performance by Orca Swim Team drag queen patron Juanita DeFuca – all to benefit the Orca Swim Team’s competition scholarship fund. No cover! www.orcaswimteam.org.

16 Seattle Gay News

SEATTLE FRONTRUNNERS’ RUN AND WALK WITH PRIDE 4K WALK & RUN; 10K RUN On Sunday, June 19, at 10 a.m., at Seward Park (5895 Lake Washington Blvd. S), the Seattle Frontrunners will host Run and Walk with Pride, a 4K walk and run and a 10K run open to all. Registration cost is $20 online, $25 day of race; $10 student/low income online, $15 day of race. All abilities are welcome, so come and join the fun! Chip tim-

ing is provided and there will be awards for top finishers. Event t-shirts will be given to all finishers and finishers will be eligible for fabulous raffle prizes. Proceeds to benefit Three Dollar Bill Cinema, producers of the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

Seattle Frontrunners is one of the largest running and walking clubs in the Northwest, and welcomes all abilities. www.seattlefrontrunners.org.

and again taking up her music after a sevenyear hiatus. At this special one-night event, Jennifer will tell her courageous story in a Q&A session as well as share her faith, her life, and her art through her incredible voice and folk-alternative stylings. Opening the show for her will be Queer comic Lianna Carrera who will also join in the Q&A. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with local music and a ministry fair at the back of the nave. Faith-based LGBT ministries as well as other community organizations serving the LGBT community are invited to host tables inviting others to join their ministries. Following a performance by Lesbian comic Lianna Carrera, there will be a blessing of the community gathered and of the good work being done to make life better for LGBT persons. Jennifer Knapp’s music and her story will follow, celebrating the crazy human ways we experience and express God’s love. The concert is FREE to the public. www.jenniferknapp.com; ecww. org.

QLAW & PERKINS PRIDE PRESENT AN EVENING WITH MAJOR MARGARET WITT On Thursday, June 23, 5:30 p.m. meet and greet, 6 p.m. speaker’s remarks, at Perkins Coie LLP (1201 Third Ave., Suite 4800), join QLaw, Perkins Pride, and members of the LGBT legal and business communities, friends and allies, in a memorable evening with Major Margaret Witt in celebration of LGBT Pride in Seattle. Major Margaret Witt, a decorated U.S. Air Force flight nurse, was discharged under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2007. In September 2010, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ordered the Air Force to reinstate Major Witt, finding that Witt’s sexual orientation does not negatively impact unit cohesion or morale.

This heightened inquiry is now known as the Witt Standard, and her historic case was instrumental in the path to repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” If you’re interested in attending, please RSVP to PerkinsPride@ perkinscoie.com by Thursday, June 16.

On Thursday, June 23, doors at 6:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m., at Rendezvous Jewelbox Theater (2322 2nd Ave.), Breezy Mist Productions presents “Summer Soiree: A Comedy/Cabaret Show to Benefit The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan.” “Summer Soiree” is a follow-up to last December’s highly successful Holiday Hullabaloo. Breezy Mist Productions (Seattle stand-up comic Rick Taylor and his husband Chris Ferguson) kicks off Pride Weekend with another installment of top notch comedy and cabaret acts to benefit The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan, and the good work they do in the community.

“Summer Soiree” will feature entertainment from DJ Mayhem, Sr. Dinah Doosh, Chris Ferguson, Barbara Sehr, Elicia Sanchez, Matt Baker, Helvetica Phont, JR Berard, Barbara Holm, Rylee Newton, Derek Sheen, Shannon Whaley, Rick Taylor, Emmett Montgomery, and one of the best cabaret acts in Seattle known simply as Kerry & James. The show will include music, standup comedy, dance, drag, and even some juggling.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan, work hard at benefits for many other organizations in the community.

This is a way you can benefit the Sisters and the work they do with their granting fun.

Helping is as easy as buying a ticket and enjoying an amazing show. Tickets: $20-advance, $25 at the door. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/175808.

“BOOGALOO BLITZ” PRIDE KICK-OFF AT THE WILDROSE On Thursday, June 23, at 9 p.m., at the Wildrose (1021 E. Pike St.), Kook Teflon and Seattle International Cabaret Fest present “Boogaloo Blitz” with Jackie Hell and friends, Lisa Dank, and others.

QUEER TEEN ENSEMBLE THEATRE On Thursday, June 23, Friday, June 24, Saturday, June 25, Sunday, June 26, from 6:30-9 p.m., Washington Ensemble Theatre (608 19th Ave. E.) presents Queer Teen Ensemble Theatre (QTET), led by co-artistic director Jessica Hatlo. The performances will be the end result of the Ensemble’s model for ensemble-generated new works, where students collaboratively produce a piece of theatre based on their own experiences surrounding identity, love, and Queerness. The month-long intensive begins with directed free-writing that is eventually SEATTLE FAITH & PRIDE 2011 – shared with the group and is later used to AN EVENING WITH generate something new. This phase continJENNIFER KNAPP ues until there is a sense of cohesion, and AT ST. MARK’S CATHEDRAL On Tuesday, June 21, doors at 6:30 p.m., texts are then molded into a working script. concert at 7 p.m., at St. Mark’s Cathedral www.washingtonensemble.org.

(1245 10th Ave. E.), join local faith-based “SUMMER SOIREE: LGBT ministries as well as other commuA COMEDY/CABARET SHOW nity organizations serving the LGBT comTO BENEFIT THE SISTERS munity for an evening with musician JenOF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE, nifer Knapp. Grammy-nominated musician, THE ABBEY OF ST. JOAN” Jennifer Knapp, rocked the Christian music world in the last two years by coming out SEATTLE OUT AND PROUD’S SEATTLE PRIDE PICNIC On Sunday, June 19, the Seattle Pride Picnic will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Volunteer Park (14th Ave. E. & E. Prospect St.). $1 (one dollar) gets you hamburgers, hotdogs and veggie burgers and all the fixings.

The picnic welcomes the LGBT community and allied families. Enjoy music, games and revelry. “Let’s celebrate the family spirit of Pride.” Sponsored by Seattle Out and Proud (SO&P), producers of Seattle’s annual Pride Parade. www.seattlepride.org

June 10, 2011

PRIDEFEAST BENEFIT On Thursday, June 24, get your Pride weekend started early and help raise funds for LGBT health and wellness nonprofits at the fourth annual PrideFeast. For details and a list of participating restaurants, visit www. pridefeast.org.

NAMES PROJECT AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT PANELS AT SEATTLE CENTER From June 24 through June 26, 10 panels from the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display at the Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center (south of the International Fountain). The display is sponsored

by PrideFest.

PRIDE SHABBAT 2011 On Friday, June 24, from 6-8 p.m., at Temple De Hirsch Sinai (1511 E. Pike St. – enter on 16th Ave. between E. Pike St. and E. Union St.) celebrate Pride Shabbat 2011 with service and celebration, light snacks and desserts. Pride Shabbat is a communitywide event brought to you by Bashert: The Jewish Federation of Seattle’s LGBTQ Initiative, Congregation Tikvah Chadashah, Kolenu, Jewish Family Service, Seattle Gay News, Temple Beth Am, and Temple De Hirsch Sinai.

Celebrating 38 Years!

BENT WRITING INSTITUTE – “OUTWRITE: A PRIDE WORKSHOP” On Friday, June 24, from 6-8 p.m., Bent Writing Institute presents “OUTWRITE: A Pride Workshop.” OUTWRITE will be facilitated by one of Bent’s volunteer teachers and held at their Capitol Hill location – RSVP for details. Bent workshops create a safe and supportive environment for Queers to tell their stories and express themselves through writing. Come celebrate Pride with them at this community-building, substance-free event. All Queer-identified folks are welcome: no previous writing experience is necessary. Cost is pay-what-you-can

Gephardt and Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson – we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a Gay child. Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard’s Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, For the Bible Tells Me So offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of Scripture and sexual identity. This FREE screening is sponsored by University Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), University District Ecumenical Parish, University Congregational UCC, Emerald City MCC Seattle, and University Baptist Church.

FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO – FILM SCREENING On Friday, June 24, at 7 p.m., the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So will be shown at University Christian Church (4731 15th Ave. NE). Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating Gays and Lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate? Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families – including those of former House Majority Leader Richard

SEATTLE MEN’S CHORUS’ “HEARTTHROBS” CONCERTS AT MCCAW HALL On Friday, June 24, and Saturday, June 25, at 8 p.m., at McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St.) the Seattle Men’s Chorus presents “Heartthrobs.” Get ready to scream and faint with excitement as Seattle Men’s Chorus thrills fans of all generations with a musical look at America’s singing heartthrobs – the boy bands! This high-energy program pays tribute to six decades of male singing groups, from the Ink Spots to the Jonas Brothers,

Visit us online www.sgn.org

is accepted also). For detailed information on the health fair program and additional peer provider services offered, follow the blog at http://lbtqhealth-ywca.blogspot. com/. To schedule a mammogram appointment, please call 206-436-8623.

DIGNITY/SEATTLE HOLDS 23RD ANNUAL PRIDE PANCAKE BREAKFAST On Saturday, June 25, from 8 a.m.-noon, Dignity/Seattle hosts their 23rd annual Pride Pancake Breakfast at Central Lutheran Church Social Hall (1710 11th Ave., across from Cal Anderson Park). Includes raffle prizes. Cost is $7 donation. Proceeds

CAPITOL HILL PRIDE FESTIVAL 2011 On Saturday, June 25, from 11 a.m.-10 p.m., the third annual Capitol Hill Pride Festival will be held on Broadway E., between E. John and E. Roy Sts. This is a free, all-ages community festival celebrating diversity and community pride. The five-block festival will feature three stages and 150 booths and vendors. Attractions include live and DJ’d music, drag and dance performance, artwalk, fashion shows, and a Doggie Drag Costume Contest. For a complete list of entertainment, performers, vendors, and other participants, visit capitolhillpridefestival. net.

go to Multifaith Works, Bailey-Boushay House, and Dignity/Seattle. Bring your old cell phones, empty ink cartridges, laptops, digital cameras, hand-held game systems, GPS devices to recycle. Dignity/Seattle has been a faith community of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Catholics and their families and friends in Seattle since 1973.

To volunteer with set up Friday at 6 p.m. and serve breakfast and wash dishes on Saturday from 8 a.m.-noon, email Dignity.Seattle@gmail.com or call 206-659-5519.

RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE ALUMNI AT JULIA’S 2011 GAY PRIDE BLOCK PARTY On Saturday, June 25, from noon-10 p.m., in conjunction with the Capitol Hill Pride Festival, Julia’s on Broadway presents their 2011 Gay Pride Block Party (Broadway E. & E. Thomas St.), featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 1 contestant and former “LeFaux” host, Shannel, along with Season 2 alumni, Jessica Wild, and Season 3 alumni, India Ferrah. Join host Mama Tits along with DJ Dana Dub, Seattle’s premier drag performers, and the cast of “LeFaux” and local live bands Smoking Bill, Sex Offender, and the Georgetown Orbits for a party to remember. The Seattle Squadron Softball team will host the food and drink booths, along with providing free prizes. Julia’s Gay Pride Block Party is a fundraiser to benefit the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Abbey of St. Joan. file photo

YOUTH PRIDE DANCE and no one will be turned away for lack of On Friday, June 24, from 7 p.m.-midnight, funds. Please RSVP to bent.news@gmail. at Pravda Studios (1406 10th Ave., Ste 200), com if you plan to attend. the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) of Washington State 2ND ANNUAL will be holding at Youth Pride Dance. The PROM DRESS RUGBY event is intended to give the under 21 comEXHIBITION GAME – munity of LGBTQ youth and their allies a CAL ANDERSON PARK On Friday, June 24, from 6-9 p.m., Seattle safe and fun way to participate in Seattle’s Quake Rugby will present their 2nd Annual Pride weekend. The theme of the dance is “Prom Dress Rugby” at Bobby Morris Play- “Born This Way” to go along with Seattle field in Cal Anderson Park (11th Ave. and E. Pride’s theme of “Be You. Be Proud. ExOlive St., just north of E. Pine St.). Similar press Yourself!” The Youth Pride Dance to the annual “Dykes vs. Drag Queens” soft- hopes to honor this theme by allowing youth ball game, admission will be $5 to “prime” a space to celebrate themselves. An opening sideline areas and the Sisters of Perpetual act to be determined will be scheduled from Indulgence, the Abbey of St. Joan, will be 7-8 p.m. From 8 p.m.-midnight a DJ dance selling penalties, conversions, scrums, line- party will be held. At 11 p.m. a Lady Gaga outs, meters, tries and conversions to raise look-a-like contest will be held – prizes to money for Seattle Quake Rugby and their be determined. Guests will receive a wristmission. Because members of Seattle Quake band for free entry to Neighbours after 2 Rugby will be wearing dresses, due to those a.m. Light refreshments will be served. A $5 limitations and the overall fun nature of this suggested donation is requested.

GLSEN strives to assure that each memexhibition match, they will not be playing full tackle rugby. The opponents this year ber of every school community is valued and will be the Seattle RFC women’s team, The respected regardless of sexual orientation or Breakers. Local celebrity announcer/refer- gender identity/expression. GLSEN works ee will be the ever-fabulous Gaysha Starr. with Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) groups in schools in the Seattle area and around the www.quakerugby.org state as well as other LGBTQ youth centers, groups and organizations.

“PRIDE NIGHT” PLAY GIRL MALE REVUE AT MUCKLESHOOT CASINO On Friday, June 24, 6:30-8 p.m. show, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. dance, Muckleshoot Casino’s Club Galaxy (2402 Auburn Way S., Auburn) will host the men of Play Girl and renowned DJ phenomenon Kimberly S, an internationally known favorite among the Gay community. The event is open to the public for guests 21 and over and FREE for those with a Preferred Players Club Card, which can be obtained for no charge on-site. Tickets are not required and space is available on a first come, first served basis. www.muckleshootcasino.com.

with a host of other swoon-worthy acts – like the Beatles, the Bee Gees, the Temptations, Earth, Wind & Fire, Menudo, the Backstreet Boys, and ‘N Sync – sandwiched in between. Tickets: $20-$55. 206-3881400; www.flyinghouse.org.

Armistead Maupin

For more information, visit www.dignityseattle.org.

13TH ANNUAL RAINBOW LBTQ HEALTH FAIR On Saturday, June 25, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., at Gilda’s Club (1400 Broadway at E. Union St.), the YWCA’s Women’s Health Outreach Program is hosting the 13th Annual Rainbow LBTQ Health Fair. Experience an exciting diversity of peer complimentary health services intended to empower and encourage our community members.

Services available at the health fair include acupuncture, massage, Trager, energy healing, personal trainers, tarot readings, safer sex, cholesterol checks and a wonderful laughter session. The Swedish Breast Center Mammography coach partners on-site for low or no-cost mammograms for income eligible individuals 40 and over (insurance

June 10, 2011

PRIDE COMMUNITY WORSHIP SERVICE – “LIVE PROUD! GOD LOVES YOU!” On Saturday, June 25, at 1 p.m., at All Pilgrims Church (500 Broadway E., at E. Republican St.) a Pride Community Worship Service will be held. This year’s theme is “Live Proud! God Loves You!” With guest speaker: Rev. Diane Darling, Pastor Alki United Church of Christ. Join the Community Chorus to sing “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent. Rehearsal at All Pilgrims at 11 a.m. Love offering to benefit Lambert House, Seattle’s resource center for LGBT youth and young adults. Sponsors include All Pilgrims Christian Church (United Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ), Emerald City Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) Seattle, Prospect United Church see pride calendar page 18

Seattle Gay News 17

pride calendar continued from page 21

of Christ, Seattle First Baptist Church, Seattle Gay News, University Baptist Church, University Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), University District Ecumenical Parish, and University Lutheran Church.

For more information, visit www.mccseattle.org

ARMISTEAD MAUPIN AT SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY AND W SEATTLE HOTEL On Saturday, June 25, from 3-4:30 p.m., the Seattle Public Library and Seattle PrideFest welcome best-selling author Armistead Maupin for a special Pride Week reading from his latest novel, Mary Ann in Autumn, and a conversation on the very Gay world of Tales of the City. The reading will be held at the Seattle Public Library, Microsoft Auditorium (1000 Fourth Ave.) The event is FREE and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets are available at www. brownpapertickets.com or at 800-838-3006.

Seating is not guaranteed after 2:45 p.m. www.seattlepridefest.org.

On Saturday, June 25, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., attend a VIP Meet & Greet with Armistead Maupin at the W Seattle Hotel (1112 Fourth Ave.) Enjoy complimentary hors d’ouevres and the opportunity to meet and chat with Armistead Maupin. Cost is $15 – with a portion of the proceeds to benefit Equal Rights Washington. Limited entry; pay at the door. Get $5 off entry with a PrideFest VIP Pass. www.seattlepridefest. org.

ter House). Tickets: $20 advance at www. breakfast buffet to fuel your morning before brownpapertickets.com. www.seattlepride- the downtown Pride Parade begins. Cost is fest.org. $19.95 with a percentage of that cost going to Seattle Out & Proud during those hours RYAN HAZY’S of service.

FREE SHOW AT ROSEBUD RESTAURANT SEATTLE PRIDE PARADE On Saturday, June 25, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., On Sunday, June 26, the Seattle Pride at Rosebud Restaurant and Bar (719 E. Pike Parade assembles on 4th Ave. just south of St.), Ryan Hazy presents a FREE unscript- Westlake Park starting at 9 a.m. At 11 a.m. ed show. Synopsis: Ryan Hazy has an Evil the parade steps off and travels north on 4th TWIN Sister who is out to steal the show Ave.to PrideFest 2011 at Seattle Center’s away from him. Will She Succeed? Find out! Fisher Pavilion and International Fountain.

“Be You. Be Proud. Express Yourself!” is the parade theme for 2011 and is a celebration of the cultural diversity that the LGBT and allied communities express every day.

This year’s theme is a celebration of our ability to create, innovate, influence, and express ourselves.

For more information, visit www.seattlepride.org.

SEATTLE PRIDEFEST 2011 On Sunday, June 26, from noon-8 p.m., PrideFest 2011 gears up at Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion and International Fountain following the parade. Enjoy 3 stages, national and local artists, community nonprofit booths, food and commercial vendors, beer gardens. The International Fountain dance scene will rock.

For more information, visit www.seattlepridefest.org or e-mail info@seattlepridefest.org.

IN THE LIFE TV CELEBRATES GAY PRIDE MONTH WITH “A MESSAGE OF HOPE” ON KCTS 9 TV On Sunday, June 26, at midnight, KCTS 9 TV broadcasts In the Life TV’s June episode, “A Message of Hope,” featuring a gospel choir raising spirits and awareness about HIV/AIDS. Messengers of Hope is an Oakland-based gospel choir that uses gospel music as a means to go into the church and the community to engage people in conversations about HIV/AIDS. African Americans have been disproportionately affected

by HIV/AIDS since the epidemic’s beginnings.

Maintaining the theme of celebrating one’s authentic self, In the Life also features Andre Cooley, a Mississippi Corrections Officer who was fired when his employer discovered he was Gay and Bill Hendrix, Bio Team Leader of Dow AgroSciences in Indiana who has civil protections from 8 a.m-5 p.m. that disappear after leaving the gates of his company. Their personal stories provide a look at employment discrimination and how some corporations provide protections to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender employees in the absence of a federally accepted Employment Non-Discrimination Act. For more information and to watch the episode online, visit www.itlmedia.org at your convenience.

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH TO BENEFIT THE “IT GETS BETTER” PROJECT On Sunday, June 26, at 8 p.m., the CrocoGAY CITY HEALTH PROJECT dile Café (2200 2nd Ave.) presents the stage AND THE SHIFT NETWORK musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, to benPRESENT “LIBERATE” efit the “It Gets Better” Project. Tickets: $15 FREE ALL-AGES plus $3 service charge. Must be 21+. www.

PRIDE DANCE PARTY On Saturday, June 25, 8 p.m.-2 a.m., at hedwigseattle.com.

Sole Repair Shop (10th Ave. & E. Pike St.), CLAIMING THE TITLE: celebrate Pride weekend at “Liberate,” a GAY OLYMPICS ON TRIAL FREE (free entry with RSVP) all-ages Pride ON KCTS 9 TV dance party featuring music from some of On the 25th anniversary of its arrival to Seattle’s hottest DJs. Featuring Flammable Resident DJs Wesley Holmes, Brian Lyons the U.S. Supreme Court, the historic legal and Karl Kamakahi. To RSVP, visit www. battle over the “Gay Olympics” will be the brownpapertickets.com/event/178395 to subject of a documentary airing on PBS stareserve your free tickets. For more infor- tions around the country beginning June 1. mation, contact Gay City at 206-860-6969 The documentary will be shown in the Seator info@gaycity.org. Sponsored by Gay tle market on Sunday, June 26, at 10:30 p.m, City Health Project, Rosehedge/Multifaith on KCTS 9 TV. San Francisco filmmakers Jonathan Joiner Works, Dunshee House, and Seattle Counseling Service, through the SHIFT Network and Robert Martin capture a rich history of events in the LGBT civil rights movement in and ourQ.org. www.gaycity.org.

INDEPENDENT LENS PRESENTS TWO SPIRITS ON KCTS 9 TV On Monday, June 27, at 10 p.m., Independent Lens presents Two Spirits on KCTS 9 TV. Two Spirits interweaves the tragic story of a mother’s loss of her son with a revealing look at the largely unknown history of a time when the world wasn’t simply divided into male and female and many Native American cultures held places of honor for people of integrated genders. Powerful and moving, Lydia Nibley’s Two Spirits explores the life and death of Fred Martinez and the ancient Native American Two-Spirit tradition.

Fred Martinez told his mother he felt as if he was both a boy and a girl, and she explained that this is a special gift, according to traditional Navajo culture. But the place where two discriminations meet is a dangerous place to live, and Fred became one of the youngest hate-crime victims in modern history when he was brutally murdered at sixteen. Between tradition and controversy, and freedom and fear, lies the truth – the bravest

SEATTLE DYKE MARCH AND RALLY On Saturday, June 25, the Seattle Dyke March Rally will be held from 5-7 p.m. at Seattle Central Community College Plaza (Broadway and E. Pine St.). Confirmed performers include: Emcee Lamar Van Dyke, Laura Robinson and Everything But MarRED – THE BIG PRIDE PARTIES riage, Seven Star Women’s Kung Fu, the On Saturday, June 25, Seattle PrideFest Northwest Network, and more. The Seattle Dyke March steps off at 7 p.m. to go around presents two big Pride parties.

The RED Men’s Pride Party with DJ Brian Capitol Hill and back to the Plaza.

For more information, visit www.seattle- Gorr will be held from 9 p.m.-5 a.m. at Neumos (10th Ave. and E. Pike St.) Tickets: $20 dykemarch.com. pre-sale. www.seattlepridefest.org.

The RED Women’s Pride Party with DJ CONCERT FOR EQUALITY Spinderella will be held from 10 p.m.-4 a.m.

WITH CRYSTAL BOWERSOX, at Baltic Room (1207 Pine St., near Melrose THELMA HOUSTON AND Ave.) Tickets: $20 pre-sale. www.seattleTHE BAND BETTY On Saturday, June 25, gates at 5 p.m., pridefest.org. concert from 6-9:30 p.m., join Crystal BowSEATTLE PRIDE BRUNCH ersox, Grammy winner Thelma Houston, AT HARD ROCK CAFÉ and the band BETTY, for a night of amazing On Sunday, June 26, 8:30 a.m.-10:30 music, drinks (including 21+ beer garden), food and Pride on the sprawling lawns of a.m., Seattle Out & Proud in conjunction the Mural Amphitheatre (just north of the with The Hard Rock Café (116 Pike St.) Pacific Science Center and south of Cen- host a special Pride-inspired all-you-can-eat

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Claiming the Title: Gay Olympics on Trial.

The half-hour documentary is both historic and timely – revealing the hidden conflicts behind a lawsuit that many in the community believed to be a risky challenge to a high profile institution.

The film examines the lawsuit that pitted Olympic athlete Tom Waddell and movement legal activist Mary Dunlap against the U.S. Olympics Committee and its ultimate resolution before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case was lifted into the news again recently and linked to the same-sex marriage fight due to the ironic role of Vaughn Walker, who was an attorney for the Olympics Committee in their fight to stop the “Gay Olympics” and in 2010 was the federal judge who declared California’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.

choice you can make is to be yourself.

Two Spirits explores issues of national concern including bullying and violence commonly faced by LGBT people, and the epidemic of LGBT teen suicide, and reveals the range of gender expressions that has long been seen as a healthy part of many of the indigenous cultures of North America, and of Navajo culture in particular. (A free exclusive public pre-screening of this program will be held on Thursday, June 16, at 6 p.m., at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma and on Saturday, June 18, at 2 p.m., On Lake Union, Seattle at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle.)

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18 Seattle Gay News

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June 10, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

 Broadway 

Farmers Market Visit us online www.sgn.org

NEW LOCATION! B'way & E. Pine, at Seattle Central Community College Sundays, 11am - 3pm, May 8 - Dec 18.

June 10, 2011

Seattle Gay News 19

20 Seattle Gay News

June 10, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 10, 2011

Seattle Gay News 21

On 30th year of HIV/ AIDS, White House officials recommit to fighting pandemic

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Thirty years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first reported on the condition that would eventually become known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. Since then, HIV has emerged as a potent global pandemic, and now more than 33 million people around the world are living with HIV and more than 2 million die from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) annually. Even today, more than 50,000 people in the U.S. are infected with HIV. On June 3, in response to the 30th anniversary of the discovery of HIV/AIDS, President Barack Obama recommitted his administration to fighting the pandemic.

“We pause to mark the 30 years we have been fighting HIV/AIDS,” said Obama.

“As we remember people in our own lives we have lost and stand by those living with

22 Seattle Gay News

HIV/AIDS, we must also rededicate ourselves to finally ending this pandemic – in this country and around the world.”

“This battle is not over,” said Secretary for Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. “As long as the AIDS virus threatens the health and lives of people here and around the globe, our work will continue to connect people to treatment, educate them about how to protect themselves, battle discrimination, and keep the country focused on our collective fight against this pandemic.”

While America has made great strides in the fight against HIV/ AIDS in recent years, the Obama administration has made it a priority to refocus national attention on a domestic epidemic that is still in play. Building on a growing body of evidence and lessons learned, the administration released last year and is now implementing a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that provides a roadmap for reducing new infections, improving care and health outcomes for people living with HIV/AIDS, and reducing the health disparities that have characterized this epidemic.

“The president is also deeply committed to expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention and care for more Americans and to supporting a robust research agenda to ensure that we make steady progress toward ending the pandemic,” said White House officials in a June 3 media release. “Under the president’s leadership, the administration has increased domestic HIV/AIDS funding to support the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and HIV prevention.”

On the world stage, the Obama administration’s Global Health Initiative has built on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) by expanding access to treatment, prevention, and care for those in need around the world, and further enhanced our impact by providing increased support for maternal/child health and by supporting the efforts of governments and communities in the developing world to build their capacity to fight this epidemic and meet the other health challenges they face.

“The administration will continue to use its leadership to call upon other countries to honor their commitments to defeat a pandemic that demands the attention of the entire world,” the White House said. “On the domestic front and international stage, the administration continues to work closely with the American people who, on this day, should stand proud of what they have done, at home and abroad, to ignite our collective commitment to this worthy cause.”

To view an interactive timeline of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and read more information, including upcoming events, go to http://aids.gov/thirty-years-of-aids/.

June 10, 2011

Rate of new HIV infections down by 25%, UNAIDS says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer According to a new report by UNAIDS, the agency that manages the international response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the rate of new HIV infections is down by almost 25%.

The report, issued June 3 – the 30th anniversary of the world’s first AIDS diagnosis – is titled “AIDS at 30: Nations at the Crossroads.”

According to the report, the rate of new HIV infections fell by more than 50% in India and by more than 35% in South Africa.

This is considered particularly good news, because these countries have the largest number of people living with HIV on their continents.

Not only is the rate of new infection down, but a record 6.6 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries at the end of 2010.

This is nearly a 22-fold increase in treatment since 2001. A record 1.4 million people began antiretroviral treatment in 2010.

In addition, at least 420,000 children were receiving antiretroviral therapy at the end of 2010, a 50% increase since 2008.

The report also noted that younger people are becoming better informed about HIV and are starting to adopt safer sexual behaviors, reflecting the impact of HIV prevention and awareness efforts.

Introducing the report at a press conference at the U.N.’s New York headquarters, U.N. Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro said the successes it documented offered a “chance to chart a new, bold path” in HIV/AIDS treatment.

“Thirty years ago when scientists first identified AIDS, it was mysterious, deadly, and spreading,” Migiro said.

“Now, three decades on, more and more people have access to treatment, infections are declining and greater numbers of pregnant women living with HIV are keeping their babies free of infection.”

Migiro also announced that the U.N. would convene a special summit conference on HIV/AIDS within a week.

“Some 20 heads of state and government will be here from all regions,” she said. “I am counting on them – the secretary-general is counting on them - and all of our partners – to review and renew our global commitments.

“Ultimately, our target is clear: zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths.”

“Access to treatment will transform the AIDS response in the next decade. We must invest in accelerating access and finding new treatment options,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe.

“Antiretroviral therapy is a bigger gamechanger than ever before – it not only stops people from dying, but also prevents the transmission of HIV to women, men, and children.”

In spite of all the successes, the report concludes that significant challenges remain.

The latest estimates from UNAIDS show that 34 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2010, and nearly 30 million have died from AIDS-related causes over the past 30 years.

Despite expanded access to antiretroviral therapy, a major treatment gap remains.

At the end of 2010, nine million people who were eligible for treatment with antiretroviral medications did not have access to them.

Treatment access for children is lower than for adults – only 28% of eligible children were receiving antiretroviral therapy in 2009, compared to 36% coverage for people of all ages.

While the rate of new HIV infections has declined, the total number of new infections remains high, at about 7,000 per day.

And while the global rate of new HIV infections has declined significantly, the statistics hide important regional variations.

According to the report, above-average declines in new HIV infections were recorded in sub-Saharan Africa and in Southeast Asia, while Latin America and the Caribbean experienced more modest reductions of less than 25%.

There has been an increase in the rate of new HIV infections in Eastern Europe and in the Middle East and North Africa.

In virtually all countries, HIV prevalence among populations at increased risk of HIV infection is higher than among other populations. These include men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers and their clients, and Transgender people.

Access to HIV prevention and treatment for populations at higher risk of infection is generally lower due to punitive and discriminatory laws and social stigma and discrimination.

As of April 2011, 79 countries, territories, and other jurisdictions criminalize consensual same-sex relations. An additional 116 jurisdictions criminalize some aspect of sex work.

Thirty-two countries have laws that allow the death penalty for drug-related offenses.

All these legal obstacles tend to deter atrisk populations from seeking regular HIV testing, and all hinder effective treatment of HIV/AIDS patients.

In addition, gender inequalities remain a major barrier to effective HIV responses.

HIV is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age worldwide, and more than 25% of all new HIV infections are among young women between the ages of 15 and 24.

Young men are more likely to be informed about HIV prevention than young women.

Recent demographic health surveys found that an estimated 74% of young men know that condoms are effective in preventing HIV infection, compared to just 49% of young women.

According to the report, investments in HIV response in low- and middle-income countries rose nearly 10-fold between 2001 and 2009, from $1.6 billion to $15.9 billion.

However, in 2010, international resources for HIV declined.

“I am worried that international investments are falling at a time when the AIDS response is delivering results for people,” Sidibe said. “If we do not invest now, we will have to pay several times more in the future.”

UNAIDS therefore called for major new investment in international HIV/AIDS programs.

A 2011 investment framework proposed

by UNAIDS and its partners asserts that an investment of at least $22 billion is needed by the year 2015, or $6 billion more than is available today.

The estimated return on such an investment would be 12 million fewer new HIV infections, and 7.4 million fewer AIDS-related deaths by the year 2020.

The number of new infections would decline from about 2.5 million in 2009 to about 1 million in 2015.

Celebrating 38 Years!

“We changed the world” – a 30 year retrospective

by Paul Kawata Executive Director, National Minority AIDS Council As we approach the 30th anniversary of the first diagnosed case of AIDS, the HIV community can look back with pride at all that was accomplished. We changed the world!

However, this milestone is a sad day for me. Sad because so many friends are not here. Like many of you, I didn’t do this work for myself; I did it because my friends were sick and dying. I still hear their voices; I still feel the pain of all that loss. My writings are the public rants of a troubled man who is trying to heal himself after losing so many friends that he can’t remember all their names.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that we changed the world. Among other things, we changed the way healthcare is provided, how new drugs are approved, how care and housing is financed, international aid’s ability to provide drug therapy, and the way to advocate for change.

So much was accomplished in the last 30 years, but it came at an unspeakable price.

quickly everything changed.

The Plague: The Early Years It’s hard to imagine and almost impossible to describe the early years. In those Gay ghettos, everything changed. Friends started losing weight, then came the coughing, then the night sweats, and finally the hospital.

Healthy one day, and three months later, dead.

You could literally be a leper in your own city. Some folks got purple lesions called Kaposi’s sarcoma all over their body. My friend Bobby used to call them his polka dots.

The Lesbian community made an invaluable contribution to the fight. Their support, understanding, and love got our movement through many a difficult night, as well as the nurses, who would stay all night, long after their shift was over.

Those long nights in hospitals waiting … the waiting could be unbearable. Wanting the suffering to end, but not ready to say goodbye. It’s not okay to be young and to read the obituaries every day. Yet that was my life, like so many of us in the fight.

We changed the way healthcare is provided, how new drugs are approved, how care and housing is financed, international aid’s ability to provide drug therapy, and the way to advocate for change.

The Golden Years (1969-1981) Some Gay men call the years been 1969 and 1981 the Golden Years. It was after Stonewall, but before AIDS. I wasn’t at Stonewall, but I owe my life to the queens who stood up and fought back on that day in June of 1969.

Because they stood up, I could live my life as an out Gay man. I was part of that first generation of Gay men and Lesbians who lived our lives entirely out of the closet. What is now common was revolutionary back in the day.

For personal safety and empowerment, Gay ghettos were formed in major cities throughout the United States. These were communities of acceptance – an acceptance not given by our families or the government – where people were free to live openly, without apology. Sex between two men or two women was seen as an act of revolution. To some, it was a golden time.

Who could have anticipated AIDS? How

The Denver Principles (1983) The Denver Principles was a manifesto written by people with AIDS in 1983. They serve as the foundation for so many of our accomplishments. They are as relevant today as they were 28 years ago.

On this anniversary, I pay tribute to authors of the Denver Principles and all the AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) that were established to serve people with AIDS.

was really no concept of safe or unsafe sex.

The AIDS community created this term and changed the behaviors of hundreds of thousands of Gay men across the country and the world. As HIV infected other communities, we learned to adapt safe sex programs for women, people of color, Transgender persons, drug users, sex workers, and young people.

Our movement changed healthcare. Before AIDS, sick people received care from their doctor via the medical model. In this system, the doctor was the decision maker.

People with AIDS (PWAs) did not want all the power to reside with their doctors; they wanted a voice in these difficult decisions.

As a result, HIV care moved from the medical model to the continuum of care model that is still used today.

The AIDS community changed the way new drugs were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Thanks to ACT UP, Project Inform, TAG, and other treatment groups, in May of 1987 the FDA agreed to give desperately ill patients expanded and speedier access to promising drugs. This step was made possible by a group of new regulations that allowed drug developers to make experimental drugs available to patients with AIDS and other serious illnesses even before all clinical testing was completed.

The Ryan White Care Act was first authorized on August 18, 1990, thanks to the leadership provided by Tim Westmoreland, Congressman Henry Waxman, Michael Iskowitz, and Senator Ted Kennedy. Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) was created in the AIDS Housing Opportunities Act, a part of the CranstonGonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990. Housing is now seen as a critical component to HIV treatment and prevention. Our communities were instrumental in the development and passage of these historic pieces of legislation.

In March 1998, African-American leaders developed a Call to Action requesting the president and surgeon general declare HIV/ AIDS a state of emergency in the AfricanAmerican community. They also testified before the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), urging action.

Thanks to their leadership and that of the CBC, the Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) was created to improve HIV/AIDS-related health outcomes for racial and ethnic minority communities disproportionately affected

by HIV/AIDS. The MAI provides money for communities to increase the availability of medications, primary care, support services, and outreach services to communities of color. It also supports the development of new and innovative programs designed to reduce HIV-related health disparities.

The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is a U.S. government initiative to help save the lives of those suffering from HIV/AIDS around the world.

This historic commitment is the largest by any nation to combat a single disease internationally, and PEPFAR investments also help alleviate suffering from other diseases across the global health spectrum. PEPFAR is driven by a shared responsibility among donor and partner nations and others to make smart investments to save lives.

ACT UP transformed the process of patient advocacy. With their anger turned into direct action, their iconic imagery, and their willingness to get arrested, ACT UP became a driving force for change in our movement.

In fact, they changed how patient advocacy was done for other diseases.

WE ARE NOT VICTIMS Our movement started because nobody would help our friends who were sick and dying. Thirty years later, our work is still not done.

I remain committed to NMAC, but I also need time – time to heal, time to think, time to transform my sadness to acceptance. It will never be OK. You can’t live through an epidemic and be OK. But maybe, just maybe, I will learn to accept and appreciate the goodness and accomplishments of these last 30 years and not just the pain and suffering.

Thank you for all that you do to fight HIV/ AIDS. We changed the world!

BUILDING A HEALTHY COMMUNITY It started with buddy programs, an early precursor to case management. These programs connected sick people with volunteers who would help navigate medical systems and benefit programs. They would also provide home care to sick friends who were dying.

Then came safe sex. Before AIDS, there

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Seattle Gay News 23

Springing into exercise

pride flag

by Que Areste, N.D. Special to the SGN

about what to do with the flag from 2010.”

SO&P officials say they asked the Space Needle representative directly if the flag was going to fly or not. “The answer we got was a recently created company flag policy, which talked specifically about flying flags more than once and the common idea of ‘diluting the brand,’” said Rosencrantz.

“They suggested that we take the flag from 2010 and cut it into small swatches and auction it off or sell it for charity.

It was later suggested by Jarod Owen that, instead of cutting it up, let’s march it in the parade, and a plan to tour the flag was born.”

At that time, said Rosencrantz, Bacarella “committed the Space Needle to sponsoring a fundraiser on-site … in the fall to benefit the community and create the program that would take the flag on tour and use it as an education and inspirational message.”

At no time did SO&P make the assumption that a private company (contrary to what many believe, the Space Needle is not owned by the city) would automatically fly the flag every year.

However, a majority of the LGBT community sure did, as SO&P would soon find out.

“We felt that their gesture in 2010 was a great symbol for the community and we did not want SO&P to seem ungrateful for them having flown the flag in 2010. Instead of letting it sit in a closet somewhere, taking them up on their offer to tour the flag nationally – and hopefully internationally – and allowing it to hang or be flown in other cities is something that has great potential,” said Rosencrantz. “At no time did SO&P feel that the Space Needle was snubbing the community, in fact, the Space Needle stepped into a void last year that hasn’t been since filled by the

There are many reasons to start an exercise program or to get back into one you have let slide over the winter. I could tell you that there are several studies showing exercise goes hand-in-hand with a long life, but I don’t tend to think that far ahead. I exercise to feel good today.

Back when I was a student, I was a true geek and professed deep hatred for any kind of physical activity. We’re not going to speak of the crush I had on my high school basketball coach which caused me to join the girls’ basketball team as a freshman.

And, yes, I was on the D team and couldn’t actually go to games, but sometimes she drove me home. That was enough.

I was the despair of my next PE coach who couldn’t get me interested in anything.

I would rather curl up in a comfy armchair and read any day. Now I go to the YMCA six days a week and even went to the downtown Y while I was attending a class in Victoria for two weeks.

What caused this change in a devoted slug?

While I was a student at Bastyr University, I was in a class called Integrative Therapeutics, taught by Bill Mitchell. It was at 8a.m. and he started every class with a voluntary exercise session. Some people came a little late, taking the opportunity to sleep longer or linger over breakfast. A few folks sat in the classroom with sour looks on their faces as if to say, “You are wasting valuable classroom time exercising. We could be getting more lecture time here.”

The rest of us got it. We realized that moving and stretching first thing in the morning was part of being healthy and teaching our patients how to live a healthy life. It was integrating healthy lifestyles into our therapeutic toolboxes.

This class opened my eyes to the benefits of exercise. I could think more clearly and stay awake more easily after I exercised than I could when I stayed in bed a little longer. I felt happier and functioned better after I had done a few stretches and yoga positions. It wasn’t even very aerobic, but I never missed a day of that class. I even did some of those exercises on weekends. New stripes for an old slug.

continued from cover

owners of any tall buildings in Seattle.”

“SO&P would gladly work to see the Pride flag fly again,” he said. “This year, next year, and every year thereafter. We are concerned that having such a negative angle on the story doesn’t take into account the positive actions of either organization.”

The Space Needle is a trademarked, protected image. “Ask any local photographers and filmmakers who have shot footage of the Needle, and they’ll explain what the Space Needle’s policies are,” said Rosencrantz. “SO&P was given a single opportunity to work with the Space Needle, with permission to take the flag off-site and use the inspiring story from 2010 to give hope to other communities. Of all the choices Space Needle had available to them regarding the flag, what made us confident that they ‘remain committed’ was the idea that they supported the concept of a national tour that is associated with their brand name.”

Rosencrantz says the Space Needle has also committed to footing the bill for a fundraiser to help support the tour of the flag.

SO&P has already fielded a request from a Pride organization representative on Maui, Hawaii, who expressed interest in raising the flag or marching with it in their 2012 Pride event (the Maui Pride event for 2011 has already passed).

At the May 26 meeting, a Space Needle official indicated to SO&P, “This is your flag.” Still, until papers are drawn up indicating a transfer of ownership to the community, the flag remains the property of the Space Needle – a Seattle landmark which may have damaged its reputation in the community because of the snub.

“We don’t feel that SO&P owns the flag.

We have simply been granted guardianship from the Space Needle for the community, and we take that very seriously,” concluded Rosencrantz.

“They flew the flag for the first time in 2010, much to the delight of the local LGBT community. Once that gesture was made, the community, it seems, feels betrayed that it has been unmade.”

SPACE NEEDLE: PLEASE RAISE THE PRIDE FLAG FOR SEATTLE PRIDE WEEKEND Word of the Space Needle’s refusal to fly the flag caught on like wildfire, which triggered a wave of reaction from the LGBT community. Immediately, Seattle activist Josh Castle created a petition on Change. org, and Joe Mirabella, Seattle blogger and Change.org organizing manager, got to work asking the Space Needle to fly the flag once again.

In the petition’s overview (available at www.change.org/petitions/space-needleplease-raise-the-pride-flag-for-seattlepride-weekend), Castle’s message is clear:

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June 10, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

view with SGN last June, when the Space Needle raised the Pride flag for 2010, Space Needle CEO Ron Sevart said, “It’s a big deal for some of our team members. Such a big deal that when we told some of them, it was very emotional. We’re as diverse inside the Space Needle as what is outside the Space Needle.”

Sevart continued, “The Pride event takes place on the Seattle Center campus. I think that being able to look up at the Space Needle and see that flag up there – I think it’s going to be a very proud moment for a lot of people.”

Well, it was a proud moment for a lot of people – but “was” and “is” are two different things. What happened?

All press inquiries from SGN to the Space Needle went unanswered.

bbc

The choice to fly the flag in 2010 showed the world that Seattle is a welcoming city for all. Refusal to fly the flag in 2011 shows the opposite.

In less than 24 hours after its creation, over 1,500 people signed the petition. At press time, it was nearing 10,000 signatures, showing that the community is invested in seeing this happen.

“The Space Needle is an amazing place and a symbol of all that’s right with Seattle,” Castle told SGN. “It’s in the middle of a gorgeous city that values diversity. They [the Space Needle’s owners] should reflect Seattle, and value it, too.”

All people are going to remember, he said, is how the Space Needle didn’t raise the Pride flag on the weekend dedicated to LGBT Pride.

“So simple – they just need to pull out last year’s flag and raise it for Pride weekend,” he continued. “And if they don’t have the money for a rainbow flag, we’ll hand them the biggest damn rainbow flag the city has ever seen. We’ll even help them hoist it.”

Ignoring the petition and citing their association with SO&P by giving them the flag, the Space Needle’s Bacarella said again they would not be flying the flag. Bacarella said the Space Needle doesn’t make a habit of flying flags on top of the Space Needle and, in fact, they try not to fly any flags on a recurring basis.

The list of flags they do fly is lengthy, which has led many in the community to cry foul on that argument. In fact, in an inter-

A COMMUNITY RESPONDS SO&P is not the only organization with its finger on the Pride pulse. Egan Orion, director of PrideFest, the Pacific Northwest’s largest LGBT Pride festival (which takes place at Seattle Center, the very grounds the Space Needle stands on) weighed in on the debacle.

Orion says that although he fully understands the Space Needle is a private corporation and has the right to do what it wants, “it is a beacon for residents and visitors alike, and what flag the Space Needle flies see Pride Flag page 26

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Seattle Gay News 25

pride flag

continued from page 25 does matter to Seattleites.”

“It seems to be more of a public relations mess for the Space Needle than anything else,” he said of the trouble. “They flew the flag for the first time in 2010, much to the delight of the local LGBT community. Once that gesture was made, the community, it seems, feels betrayed that it has been unmade. It is unfortunate, as [flying the flag] sends a signal of support for Pride weekend and unifies the city in affirming the LGBT community.”

“My sense is that after their [2010] gesture, more people from our community went to eat at the Space Needle [restaurant] or to take their out-of-town guests to enjoy the view from the top,” he continued. “I have a feeling the support for the Space Needle will drop this year now that they have decided not to fly the rainbow flag, at least amongst the LGBT community and their allies.”

Although the flag is being released to SO&P to be used in the 2011 Seattle Pride Parade, as the festival director, Orion says he’s “a little ambivalent about using the Space Needle’s flag at PrideFest.”

“In a way, I feel like it’s taking the scraps from the Space Needle and trying to make a nice little Pride picnic out of it,” he told SGN. “We’re unveiling a giant Pride flag of our own this year to match the size of the Space Needle flag – look for it as the last float in the parade, and it will also have its

own grand entrance at the festival at the main stage. No Space Needle scraps, but something funded by our own community and made specifically for us, not as some empty public relations gesture.”

The group that was asked to march with the Space Needle Pride flag, and accepted, is the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan.

Public relations nightmare or not, The Abbey says they are “delighted and honored” to march with the flag.

“As we carry this beacon of hope through downtown Seattle, we will perpetuate our mission to support and represent our community in all its magnificent glory. The past and future of a particular flag we carry is of less import to us than ensuring that this powerful symbol is present on the parade route,” said The Abbey in a statement to the press.

“If the Sisters want to march with the Space Needle flag in the parade, I say do it,” said Orion. “Big, beautiful rainbow flags make a statement and I’m sure everybody will appreciate that particular flag being put to good use this year.”

ERW, GSBA, PRIDE FOUNDATION WEIGH IN Equal Rights Washington, the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA), and Pride Foundation issued a joint statement to SGN on the subject.

“Last year, we applauded with excitement when the flag was proudly raised atop the Space Needle. This profound gesture of support by the leadership at the Space Nee-

dle made a bold statement that the LGBTQ community was being recognized for our community’s civic, cultural, and economic contributions,” read the statement, which was signed by Josh Friedes, ERW executive director; Louise Chernin, GSBA executive director; and Marschel Paul of the Pride Foundation.

“It is our understanding that last year’s flag-raising was a one-time event pursuant to the Space Needle’s flag-raising policy.

The Space Needle is a GSBA member and an important partner that supports the GSBA mission and programs. We applaud the Space Needle for its support of equality and raising the rainbow flag during last year’s Pride month to especially commemorate our state’s Referendum 71 victory. We also acknowledge the Space Needle’s policies on flag-raising and its autonomy to choose how it recognizes the diverse communities of Seattle and embraces equality for all (to which it is has consistently shown support for in other ways),” the statement continued.

“However, as the struggle for LGBTQ visibility and equality continues with issues such as (but not limited to) same-sex marriage recognition, support for LGBTQ youth and seniors, HIV/AIDS education, rural LGBTQ needs, and Transgender health issues, our community needs allies like the Space Needle to demonstrate its support in a vibrant and ongoing way. The Space Needle certainly recognizes the powerful symbolism and positive impact that raising the flag atop its spire has on the City of Seattle as a beacon of LGBTQ community pride and progressive values,” said the directors.

“The rainbow flag is an iconic symbol for the LGBTQ community in the same spirit as the Space Needle is an iconic symbol of Seattle. It is our hope that it is a partnership that will continue and we have asked the leadership at the Space Needle to thoughtfully reconsider their decision and policy.”

Pride month is about celebration and activism. Encouraging everyone to celebrate Pride in a meaningful way is what’s most important, they said. “We’d love to see rainbow flags flying all over the city during this season. For those wishing to ask the Space Needle to reconsider, Change.org has organized a petition drive requesting the Space Needle raise the rainbow flag again this year for Pride month.”

“We’d especially love to see folks engage in the continued work on achieving equality not only during Pride month, but all year long,” concluded the statement. “Get active, support our many nonprofits working on equality issues, live out and proud in your communities.”

A FLAG ON EVERY CORNER When issues like these arise, the LGBT community is known for its ingenuity and wit. Aside from Josh Castle’s Change.org petition, a number of other ideas on how to deal with the Space Needle problem have arisen.

Seattle City Councilperson Jean Godden has jumped into the fray. On June 9, Godden

asked the Space Needle to show its Pride on her website (www.jeangodden.com).

“The public and proud support represented by the flag flying high over the Space Needle is something that should not be lost,” Godden posted on her website.

She asked for her supporters and the supporters of LGBT Pride to sign a petition she created and promised to “personally carry your message of support to Space Needle executives.”

“We need to show Seattle’s pride by raising the flag!” she concluded.

It is the position of SGN that, yes, the Pride flag should wave proudly above the Space Needle – not just once or twice, but year after year during Pride. Our staff and friends have all signed petitions, made phone calls, and showed support for the effort.

But what SGN staff and leadership would like members of the community to recognize is that we, as a collective LGBT movement, can make the difference in our own neighborhoods, at our favorite bar or club, and in our workplaces.

Let’s put a flag on every corner!

From now until June 26, the day of the Pride parade, SGN, along with the support and help from the community, plans to ask dozens of city landmarks, government buildings, and sports arenas to hoist a Pride flag.

Here is what you can do: • Call Seattle landmarks and ask them to show their Pride.

• Hang a Pride flag from your house or paste one in the window of your apartment building.

• Carry a Pride flag in the parade or simply bring one with you to PrideFest.

We are a strong community, a large community, and the Pride flag is our banner.

Wave it proudly!

marshals

continued from cover consistently demonstrate commitment to the goals of human rights, equality, tolerance, engagement, empowerment, and a better understanding within the LGBT community of itself and in relation to the nonLGBT community.

SO&P is honored to announce here the Marshals of the 2011 Seattle Pride Parade (in alphabetical order): George Bakan, editor in chief of Seattle Gay News and legendary Seattle activist.

George championed innumerable LGBT causes, from the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to the passage of an all-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the current fight for marriage equality.

Eric Gauthier, past president and current president emeritus of Seattle Out & Proud (SO&P). Eric has served the Seattle LGBT community for over 10 years and has put in over 14,000 hours of volunteer work.

Eric continues to work with SO&P, Serving as an experienced resource for the new lead-

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26 Seattle Gay News

June 10, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

ership of the organization.

GLSEN Washington State. A chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) based in Seattle, this education organization works all across the state of Washington creating safe schools for all LGBT people.

Daniel Hernandez, student at the University of Arizona and an aide to U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Daniel is credited for being the first to help and save Rep. Giffords’ life after she was shot in January 2011 in Tucson, Arizona. Daniel, who is Gay and Hispanic, has been a model of reason and strength in the middle of heated discussions about immigration and bullying, and has become a particular hero for both groups.

Armistead Maupin, renowned American author and Vietnam veteran. Armistead is best known for his groundbreaking Tales of the City series and other bestselling novels. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Armistead served as a naval officer in the Mediterranean and with the River Patrol Force in Vietnam. He married his husband Christopher Turner in Vancouver, BC, in 2007. Armistead is a Seattle Pride Parade Marshal courtesy of Seattle PrideFest.

Egan Orion, director of Seattle PrideFest at Seattle Center. Egan is a Seattle and Northwest native who has been proudly serving the community by producing some of the largest LGBT events in the country.

His company, One Degree Events, also produces an acoustic concert series called GreenNote and some of the most popular flash mobs in the world.

Seattle Storm’s Ownership Group. The 2010 Champion Seattle Storm is one of six independently owned teams in the WNBA, the world’s preeminent women’s professional basketball league. Its ownership group, Force 10 Hoops LLC, is composed of three outstanding Seattle businesswomen and civic leaders (Dawn Trudeau, Lisa

Brummel, and Ginny Gilder) who help the Storm play an active role in promoting literacy, health and fitness, support for women and girls, and youth basketball in local communities.

For more information about the Marshals, the Seattle Pride Parade, and Seattle Out & Proud, please visit our website at www.seattlepride.org.

salvation army continued from cover

attle Gay News in December of last year.

“As the Everett High School GSA advisor, I think we need to set a good example for our students. This is not the example I want my students to see.”

Stair bases his views on the Salvation Army’s belief statement on homosexuality, which reads, in part: “Sexual attraction to the same sex is a matter of profound complexity … Scripture forbids sexual intimacy between members of the same sex. The Salvation Army believes, therefore, that Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life. There is no scriptural support for same-sex unions as equal to, or as an alternative to, heterosexual marriage.”

Still, three years – and a lot of heartache on the part of Stair and his GSA students – later, the Henry M. Jackson High School Associated Student Body (ASB) has again decided to continue donating food and proceeds to the Everett Salvation Army.

As one could imagine, Stair is not happy.

“The decision by the ASB makes me feel like I’m not worthy of being a full person, like my relationship with my partner of 17 years is somehow less meaningful to my employer than if I had been partnered with someone of the opposite sex,” he told SGN. The three-year battle to expel the Salva-

tion Army from Henry M. Jackson High School has been a grueling one. ASB organizations in school across Washington state are governed by students in leadership positions, allowing them to make decisions about student-led projects. Students’ participation in the projects is voluntary, and no grades are given or tied to an academic requirement. In other words, aside from complaints (both formal and informal), Stair’s hands are tied.

Stair admits he is not an advocate for the process by which the high school ASBs are run. “I’m against it,” he said. “Students should not have been given the option to decide to violate the district’s non-discriminatory policy and ignore the separation of church and state. I think the ASB has taken the school in a direction that comes into direct conflict with the inclusive direction the school district has stated they want to pursue.”

Unfortunately for Stair, the students were given that choice. Even after meeting with Henry M. Jackson High School’s GSA, they decided to go with the Salvation Army yet again.

“At the meeting with the GSA club, the students of both groups had a civil, candid conversation about our thoughts about the Salvation Army,” wrote Stephanie Banning, ASB president 2010-2011, in a letter to the student body and school district officials. “The GSA had previously discussed the issue on their own, and they had come to a conclusion and suggestion for ASB: that Jackson’s food drive remain benefiting the Salvation Army.”

According to Banning, the GSA noted that “although there are discriminatory statements about homosexuals on the national organization website, the local [Everett] chapter does not discriminate in practice, nor in theory on their own website.”

In the end, Jackson’s GSA decided that the good that the Salvation Army does for the community outweighs the negative state-

ments, and that ultimately the food drive is about helping other people defeat hunger, not about a sentence on their website.

“The students in the club all felt comfortable working on the food drive with the Salvation Army,” concluded Banning.

Stair was not a part of the meeting and says he is unsure what happened in that discussion.

During the meetings that Stair was involved in, he suggested that Jackson’s ASB ask the Everett Salvation Army to post a statement on their website separating themselves from the national organization. He cited examples of a similar case concerning the United Way and the Boy Scouts of America as a precedent. In addition, he asked that the Everett Salvation Army promise that all money from Jackson would stay with the local chapter.

According to Banning, “When ASB first discussed this possibility, we thought it would be a good solution.”

However, after further discussion, the students decided it was not fair for them to “force this ultimatum on the Salvation Army.”

Banning said, “We already found that the Everett chapter of the Salvation Army does not discriminate in practice, nor do they have discriminatory statements on their own website.”

Stair is unimpressed and feels let down by the school district for even allowing the students to choose the Salvation Army from a number of charities.

“I hope the process I have endured with this issue never happens to a student,” he told SGN. “I have been delayed for three years, I have had my professional integrity put into question by administration at Jackson High School, I have been put into the position of either dropping the issue or outing myself in front of students and staff, and I have dealt with harassment in the workplace.”

“These things are not OK,” he concluded.

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