509 10th Ave E Seattle, WA 98102 info@sgn.org sgn.org (253) 256-3151
Renee Raketty
Mike Schultz (2023-2024)
Angela Cragin (2020 - 2023)
George Bakan (1984 - 2020) Jim Tully (1974 - 1984)
(206) 751-7454
IN THIS ISSUE
LETTER
Editor’s Note: This letter was edited to fit the page.
Dear Editor, I am writing to thank the editor of the SGN for correcting a problem that has caused quite a bit of trauma in my life.
I am a survivor of conversion therapy. When I was 15, I came out of the closet. I lived in a small community in central Utah that was very conservative. Upon coming out of the closet, I rarely heard my name from the people in my community. Instead I was simply labeled “faggot.” Men would follow me in their vehicles as I walked home from school, shouting the slur at me, threatening to kill me. The religious people in my neighborhood ignored this and allowed it to continue. Eventually, my parents sent me away to conversion therapy, mostly to make me straight but also likely to avoid any more animosity from the neighbors.
In conversion therapy, I was beaten, raped, molested, and put through many other traumatic events. I aged out of the program, still Gay, and due to missing the entirety of my senior year of high school, I had to get my GED in order to continue my education. I received my GED from Utah Valley University.
I moved to Seattle in 2023 to pursue a degree in filmmaking. Having lived in conservative places for most of my life, I was very excited to be moving somewhere that proclaims itself as progressive. Immediately upon moving here, I started volunteering: for Dog Gone Seattle, Three Dollar Bill Cinema, and many others.
During this time, I noticed how disproportionately affected by homelessness Seattle was. I started to get involved in researching why that was, and began publishing my findings on Instagram Threads (these findings eventually became a photo story and an article for Shoreline Community College), when, out of nowhere, in response to me posting about the problems affecting the homeless, local artist Devon Little called me a “faggot.” This was my first-ever interaction with her. I had never spoken to or even heard of her before. But in response to me trying to bring awareness to the homelessness in Seattle, she thought it was appropriate to retaliate with hate speech. I politely informed her that what she was saying was hate speech, to which she responded by saying, “wah wah I’m a whiny bitch.” She then posted on her own profile, “if you’re gay and can’t handle being called a fag, seek help.”
I was honestly disgusted and shocked to see anyone behaving like that, but when I
saw that she was Queer herself, and a local artist, I felt that she could potentially cause a lot of harm to the community behaving like that so brazenly, publicly, and, worst of all, completely unprovoked, setting an example to the younger generations that this type of harassment is appropriate behavior.
I contacted her art studio, Base Camp Studios, and Shunpike Arts, its sponsor, to see if a resolution could be reached. I asked for a dialogue with Devon and with Nick Ferderer, who operates Base Camp Studios 2, and was met with silence. My request to speak with Devon and Nick about the impact of Devon’s hate speech was left on read.
So I showed up to Devon’s open studio and confronted her about it. My intentions were to confront her about it; if she apologized, sincerely, I was going to accept it and move on. Instead she threatened to call the police on me, at which point, I left on my own free will. Later that night, I received threats and harassment from several people on Devon’s behalf.
Following this event, I contacted the Seattle Gay News. Hannah Saunders responded to my inquiry by phone, and interviewed me about the story. In my interview with Hannah, I told her about my experience as a survivor of conversion therapy, and how my history with the word “faggot” is steeped in trauma. I also told her about the attacks I was receiving from this situation. She didn’t ask any follow-up questions to either of those, and instead started asking me where I had come from when I moved to Seattle. I remember thinking this was odd at the time, but it wasn’t until I read her article that I realized what she was doing.
When her article was posted on February 24, 2025, the trauma I had experienced as an out Gay kid in a conservative area came rushing back to me. Hannah almost completely removed my side of the story from the article, and twisted what remnants that were left. I had told Hannah that I volunteer and try to bring awareness to help the homelessness problem in Seattle, and that I post about that on Instagram Threads; she reported in her article that I had taken to Instagram Threads to make jokes about the homeless and substance abuse disorder. This was an outright fabrication by Hannah. I never did, nor would I ever, make jokes about a marginalized group of people. Furthermore, Hannah completely erased my history as a survivor and activist, and instead [mentioned] that I had moved to Seattle from out of state, and that Devon had lived here most of her life. Hannah
completely left out the attacks I was receiving from Devon and her following but made sure to mention that Devon felt unsafe. The entirety of my life as a survivor of anti-Gay attacks was erased in order to frame the story as “transplant versus local,” downplaying and dismissing the impact of Devon’s hate speech and positioning me, the victim of hate speech, as a threat to the studio. This was incredibly disturbing to me.
The article, furthermore, inspired more attacks on me. I have been attacked by Nathan Wayne, Seattle’s own celebrity drag queen, who threatened violence against me, and Devon Little has consistently harassed me since the article was published, most recently posting about me by name on her TikTok bio, before I blocked her.
When I first moved here, experiencing the difficulties of finding a community in a new city, the Seattle Gay News was my community. After Hannah’s article about me, I blocked the SGN out of my life. Upon hearing that Hannah was no longer with the paper, I decided to contact it again. I wanted to believe that, there were honest and good-hearted people working at the Seattle Gay News, and I was so fortunate to find that that was true.
I called and spoke with Madison Jones, who was incredibly receptive to my side of the story. Shortly after the phone call, Hannah’s article was removed, and I was promised that my side of the story would be published in this letter to the editor, which I am grateful for.
Hate speech is never acceptable, and I am grateful to the Seattle Gay News for removing an article that [negatively impacted a member] of the LGBTQ+ community. It is saddening to see how so much hate for LGBTQ+ people can exist and be supported, even in a place as progressive as Seattle.
Sincerely, Wes King
The Seattle Gay News: A new era of being unapologetically Transgender owned and led
BY MADISON JONES SGN MANAGING EDITOR
After deep consideration of the circumstances Transgender Americans have been experiencing in the United States, I, both as managing editor of the SGN and an out-andproud Transgender woman, have decided to preface this issue with a statement:
In America today, a battle is currently being fought to convince people to turn against their neighbors, and allow the government take their rights away. Politicians in Washington, DC, and across the country are actively trying to erase the Transgender community, erase immigrant communities, erase communities of color, and ultimately, erase the founding principles of the US Constitution itself.
Every person in the US deserves the chance to live a life of dignity and respect. However, as it stands now, Transgender Americans — alongside many others —
are not being given that opportunity.
The recent death of Charlie Kirk has unfortunately become another flashpoint in the discourse around Transgender rights, despite Tyler Robinson, the alleged shooter, being a cisgender man, with no evidence to suggest he was politically affiliated with leftist or Transgender causes, despite numerous inaccurate reports by major media outlets and conservative politicians.
The fact remains that a majority of US shooters have been proven to be radicalized by white-nationalist ideology before committing their acts of violence.
Despite this, politicians instead are claiming the real danger lies with Transgender people, who are supposedly more dangerous than Al Qaeda and the Taliban. It has even led the FBI to consider designating us as “nihilistic violent extremists,”
and a Heritage Foundation spin-off group is petitioning to have “Transgender ideology–inspired violent extremism” added as a as a domestic terrorism threat category.
Historically, Transgender people have not been given much of a platform to share their stories with the public. This makes it easier to create a bogeyman to scare voters who have never had the chance to meet real, everyday Trans people and hear about their lives directly.
That is why, as a newspaper for the Queer community, readers will find that, in this issue, we have spotlighted more Transgender stories and perspectives. Under the leadership of our Transgender publisher Renee Raketty, the SGN has made it its mission to incorporate more Transgender and other marginalized perspectives. Now more than ever, I believe we need the SGN
to return to its original community role, and once again become a vibrant platform on which LGBTQIA+ people of Seattle and the region can have a voice and safe space to collectively advocate for their rights in the face of mounting adversities.
During its 51-year history, the SGN has always stood for the Queer community, advancing its interests and speaking truth to power. During the HIV/AIDS crisis, the SGN was the first Seattle publication that dedicated itself to informing the public, promoting safer sex education, printing obituaries, and organizing events and vigils. Former SGN publisher George Bakan championed the inclusion of Bisexual and Transgender people in Pride. The paper has also been critical to the success of Seattle Pride since its inception, including fundraising, organizing, and staff involvement. The SGN stands ready to continue fighting on behalf of all the diverse communities it represents, especially the Transgender community, both now and in the future.
The SGN has historically been funded by its advertisers; however, with the withdrawal of the financial support of corporations and businesses for LGBTQIA+ causes, the SGN is calling on its community of readers get more involved to help fund its mission, whether it be a one-time or monthly donation. Ultimately, a Queer newspaper will not survive unless it is reflective of, and also supported by, the people it serves. Thank you for your vital support!
SGN STAFF
BRUCE CLAYTON TOM
SEATTLE NEWS
Obituary: Thomas Charles Rantz (1952–2025)
Thomas Charles (“Cha-Cha”) Rantz was born March 13, 1952, and passed away at his home in Seattle on August 21, 2025, due to a tragic accident. He was 73 years old.
Born in Newport News, Virginia, to Richard Charles (colonel, US Army, Oct. 21, 1921–Feb. 4, 2023) and ErmaDeanne Boyer Rantz, Tom spent his childhood with his military family, living in Virginia, Alaska, France, Germany, Rhode Island, and Brussels, Belgium.
Tom graduated from T.C. Williams High School, in Alexandria, Virginia, where he became an Eagle Boy Scout and an acclaimed thespian in numerous plays. While obtaining his bachelor’s degree at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Tom was very active with the school newspaper and participated in school politics.
In Spokane, he became a well-known part of the Spokane Gay scene, where he met Harry Hoglin, who remained his friend in Seattle until Tom’s passing. Harry loves to tell the story of a memorable event in Spokane, the 1977 Wrangler Picnic at Newman Lake. Tom wanted to make an
entrance, so he dressed in full drag, donned water skis, and circled the lake twice, waving to all on shore. At the end of the second pass, he let go of the rope, drifted to shore, and stepped off his skis to join the party — with not a hair or clothing item out of place!
Tom moved from Spokane to Seattle in the late 1970s and fell in love with the city and community. There, he made many lifelong friends, including Adam Schwiekl, Rock Henderson, and Ray Holmes (aka Sofonda Peters). He worked in the hotel and restaurant industry at such famous places as François and Julia Kissel’s Brasserie Pittsbourg and the City Loan Pavillion in Pioneer Square and later at the Sorrento Hotel.
At the world-famous Gay bar The Mocambo in Pioneer Square, he met Steve Nyman and became best friends, spending many memorable nights in the city’s Gay scene. With Steve and Nathan Benedict, they opened The Inside Passage Restaurant and Bar (1983–89) at the corner of Melrose and Pine on Capitol Hill. As one of the first openly Gay restaurants and bars in
the neighborhood, it was very popular, with a weekslong waitlist. It had the first sidewalk dining allowed in Seattle, designed by world-renowned Gay landscape architect R. David Adams. It was a wonderful time in his life.
When circumstances forced the sale of the business, he moved on to work for Washington state at a liquor store, learning management skills, and then to Washington State Ferries, where he worked in dock and personnel management until retirement. Throughout his careers, Tom formed lifelong friendships and was very committed to his workplace.
Tom loved the Gay community, and he loved to travel. He was Mr. Wrangler (Spokane) and Flash and Trash (Spokane), and was crowned Mr. Gay Washington (1978) and Olympia 17, Empress of Seattle Olympic and Rainer Empires (1987). He was active in many events and was also known as Cha-Cha.
When able, he loved planning trips and traveling, visiting every continent — some several times — on tours and cruises. He
enjoyed luxurious meals, meeting people, lively conversation, and many activities: from swimming with dolphins to zip lines and more, he tried it all. Tom’s gourmet cooking skills were also beyond description and resulted in many wonderful meals for friends and family.
Tom loved family and celebrations, birthdays, Christmas, Easter (a favorite time to dress well), and Thanksgiving. He loved his nephews, Jack and Rock Rantz, and was a wonderful uncle, showering them with gifts, especially watches. Tom had a loving relationship with his brother John and sister-in-law MaryAnn. Most of all, Tom’s love for his mom and dad was endless, and he always had their love and support in all his endeavors. Tom and John were preparing to celebrate their mother’s 100th birthday the following weekend when Tom had the accident.
A final “Bon Voyage” will be held in honor of Tom Rantz on Oct. 11, 2025, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Union, 1009 E. Union St., Seattle.
RAY HOLMES (SOFONDA PETERS), HARRY HOGLIN, AND TOM RANTZ (CHA CHA)
COURTESY STEVE NYMAN AND NATHAN BENEDICT
TOM RANTZ VIA FACEBOOK
COURTESY STEVE NYMAN AND NATHAN BENEDICT
Justice for Indigo Greene: A fiancée’s battle to honor the
final
wishes of a beloved Seattle Trans woman
BY ARIN WALLER
Editor's note: This is an ongoing news story, return back to this article at sgn.org for more updates.
For two months, Mia Larotonda has been fighting a legal battle to have her Transgender fiancée’s burial rites honored in accor-
dance with her gender identity.
On July 9, Ms. Indigo Greene, aka Alice Alexandra Greene, was reportedly found by Larotonda in their Seattle home, alongside units from the Seattle Police Department and the King County Medical Examiner (KCME), after taking her own life.
Greene was a crew member of Impact Foundation, a nonprofit created in 2022 and dedicated to Seattle’s underground LGBTQ+ music and arts. She was also known for being a compassionate, dedicated member of the Queer mutual aid scene.
Larotonda, a Latina Seattle native and Trans woman herself, is a show promoter with Impact Foundation, a social media coordinator for Seattle Voice Labs, and an active member in the Trans community. She described to the SGN how Greene was an important pillar in her life, as well as the Trans community: “We shared all
the same friends. We went to all the same places. She was one of the reasons why I work at Impact now, and was a hugely important part of the community. She was an expected face to see at a lot of things.”
Recounting her fiancée’s work and impact on people’s lives, she added, “She would lock in when it came to taking care of someone else. The two of us, we fed, we clothed, we gave beds to people. We did some work with Traction PNW and other projects in the area to house Queer people in need.”
In her final moments Greene left behind a note (submitted to the SGN by Larotonda), reading, “I’m sorry I’m giving up. I know you said not to. Every moment in my life is pain. Everything I am belongs to my wife Mia. Take care of my remains.”
According to Larotonda, Greene wanted to be laid to rest either through green burial or gemification.
ALICE ALEXANDRA "INDIGO" GREENE COURTESY MIA LAROTONDA
Legal dispute
Despite Greene’s final wishes, her remains were slated by the KCME to be released to her biological family in Alabama. Larotonda reports feeling horrified by this, as she stated that both Greene’s mother and father had long been estranged from her life, and were supposedly complicit in her abusive childhood. She described to the SGN having to frantically try to obtain the family's contact info in the first week after Greene’s passing.
Eventually, Larotonda made contact with Greene’s mother, Michele Merchant Blackburn. She reported pleading with the her to honor her fiancée’s final rites, via text message.
Blackburn later responded, referring to Greene using her deadname and masculine pronouns, stating that her child “will be coming home whole to his family and his life will be celebrated privately here.”
Highlighting the injustice of Greene being stripped of her Transgender identity by family, Larotonda pointed out that “they want to bury her in more ways than one — pulling her out of her community, her loved ones. Only using her old name, only using her old pronouns.”
As Greene’s surviving romantic partner and deeply upset by these circumstances, she said, “They can just swoop in, disregard what her last wish was, and then take her away and hide her. I think that’s the worst part. They think that a Trans suicide is something that’s shameful. So better to remember her as an unhappy man than as a traumatized Trans person that was deliberately abused.”
Larotonda has since challenged the family’s claim over Greene’s remains in court. She was initially granted a temporary restraining order on July 17. Although Greene’s note did not qualify as a legally binding will according to Washington state law, because it was not an advance directive signed and dated with two witnesses, the restraining order still succeeded, as under the Revised Code of Washington, Queer people cannot be misrepresented in
their name, gender, and pronouns in legal documents.
For a hearing on July 21, representatives of Greene’s family were required in court before the restraining order's expiration. Larotonda claimed to have sent two friends, Julia Skillman and Victoria Gold, to deliver the necessary legal papers to Greene’s family’s residence in Alabama on July 20.
According to both Larotonda and an incident report filed by the local county sheriff’s office in Alabama and given to the SGN, Greene’s father Arter Jack Blackburn had allegedly pushed Gold to the ground, thinking she was Larotonda, while also slapping a cellphone from her hand while she was trying to deliver the papers.
In the report filed by Officer Drobles, who was present on the scene, he wrote, “Arter stated that the ‘thing’ in the passenger seat of the U-Haul is claiming to be their son’s Transgender lover.”
The officer further wrote of the father, “Arter stated ‘these people turned their son into a Transgender and a drug addict, ultimately leading to his death.’”
Despite these events, a judge in the Superior Court of Washington and King County ultimately ruled in favor of the Blackburn family, arguing that Larotonda was not Greene’s legal next of kin.
But Larotonda is still determined, looking to pursue further legal action in the Washington Supreme Court to not only change the state’s law for her fiancée’s sake but for that of all Trans people after death.
A Go Fund Me page has been established by Larotonda to raise funds for legal costs and memorial service for Greene at https:// www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-honor-indigos-final-wishes-and-fight-unfair-laws .
Local business seeks help in identifying an assailant on the loose
The DJ Sessions asks for help after experiencing violence on Broadway Ave
BY MADISON JONES
SGN MANAGING EDITOR
Darran Bruce is a Seattle business owner and creator of The DJ Sessions, best known for its DJ truck that plays electronic dance music, primarily on Capitol Hill. On August 1 around 8 p.m., he and his employees reported being victims of property damage and hate speech from a still unidentified person while operating along Broadway.
The DJ Sessions is no stranger to occasional disapproving passersby, according to Bruce. He explained that “driving around with a loud stereo system in the city can attract some unwanted finger gestures and vocal things thrown our way from time to time. We typically just wave them off, smile, and say ‘thank you and have a nice day.’”
He told to the SGN that on principle, The DJ Sessions tries its best to remain mindful of others, only operating on Friday nights from 6 to 10 p.m., all while keeping the truck moving so that no one area is subject to music for an unreasonable amount of time.
The DJ Sessions also keeps the truck route centered around Seattle’s nightlife areas. As Bruce pointed out, “Our typical pattern runs through the Pike-Pine corridor, Capitol Hill, around 12th, up and down
Broadway, and rinse and repeat.”
Before the recent incident, Bruce explained, he had encountered this person several times before. He and his employees noticed that the man “sits out front [of the Bait Shop on Mercer Street and Broadway], and as we drive by, heckles us, screams at us vulgarities and other hate messaging I dare not repeat.”
On Aug. 1, this man began to heckle, according to Bruce. “He was yelling very derogatory slurs, racial slurs, what you would consider hate speech, anti-Gay rhetoric, things of that nature,” he said. However, in this instance the man threw a glass object into the back of the truck, shattering near three of Bruce’s employees and cutting the hand of one. “As we turned around and headed back south on Broadway, I noticed that the gentleman, the perpetrator, came out to the side of the road,” Bruce said, “and he was waiting for traffic to go by. And as the traffic stopped, I saw him run back behind the truck.”
Video footage from The DJ Sessions livestream recording that night that Bruce shared with the SGN shows the man walk out into the street to throw the glass object directly into the back of the truck.
“I jumped out of the truck,” Bruce related. “I grabbed my can of pepper spray, because I didn’t know what he was going to do, after realizing in those few quick moments that he had done something to assault and damage our vehicle by throwing something in the back.”
The video footage shows Bruce using the pepper spray immediately afterward on the man, who then makes his way back to the sidewalk. “If you have a problem with a person or a business, don’t resort to violence,” Bruce requested.
Bruce has since filed a complaint with the Seattle Police Department to investigate further, but they have yet been able to come up with any leads, as he has been unable to provide a name or other identifying information.
Now taking matters into his own hands, Bruce is reaching out to the community to get involved.
“We’re hoping that the community can come together and maybe identify this individual so that proper charges can be filed against this person. And some justice can be done,” Bruce said. “Because now we’re scared to even operate our business in that area of Capitol Hill. And I live on and work
on Capitol Hill.”
Bruce talked about his 51 years of being a Seattle resident, and spending eight living in Capitol Hill. “Very disappointing to see this kind of behavior still taking place in such a vibrant area,” he lamented.
Those with any information regarding the identity of the person in question are encouraged to report it to the Seattle Police Department Nonemergency Line at 206-625-5011 or online at https://spdonlinereporting.seattle.gov/
LOCAL SHERIFF'S INCIDENT REPORT EXCERPT (FILED
ASSAILANT CAUGHT ON FILM BY THE DJ TRUCK COURTESY DJ SESSIONS
Rally at Waterfront Park: Speaking up on protecting women’s and Trans rights
BY ARIN WALLER
On Sunday, September 7, the Defund Musk Women’s Rights group held a sequel to its previous event in University Village on July 26. This time, the demonstration took place at Waterfront Park in Seattle and the nearby Pike Place Market. While continuing their Handmaid’s Tale-inspired approach to speaking up on feminist issues, the focus was on intersectionality, including Trans and LGBTQ+ rights. Elayne Wylie of the Gender Justice League was a speaker, along with Seattle city attorney candidate Erika Evans and mayoral candidate Katie Wilson.
As usual with such events, a group of women dressed up as handmaids, in red gowns and white bonnets, from the television adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale by novelist Margaret Atwood. They held signs with statistics on domestic violence against women, mortality rates among women denied abortions, and details about victims of the child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, tying into the current discussion around President Donald Trump’s connection with him. These wording included “38% of all domestic violence victims will experience homelessness” and “Thirteen-year-old Katie Johnson was raped by Donald Trump and Jeff Epstein.”
Also included among these signs were topics that touched on Transgender women. One sign read, “Trans people are
over 4 times more likely to be victim to violent crime” and another “41% of women have experienced intimate partner violence. That # is 54% for trans/nonbinary people.”
As part of the administration’s current attacks against Transgender people, the Department of Justice is looking at methods to prevent Trans people from owning guns in the wake of a shooting in Minneapolis, as the media widely reported the perpetrator to be a Transgender woman. Many on the right are using this tragedy to argue that there is a link between mental instability and being Trans, despite most shootings being perpetrated by cisgender men. Republicans have been very adamant against red-flag gun laws in response to such deadly shootings but have since changed their tune when it came to targeting Trans people.
Zoe, one of the co-leaders of the Defund Musk Women’s Rights group told the SGN what she believes about the matter: “I think it’s absolutely disgraceful that when the majority of shootings are committed by white men, they won’t even begin a dialogue on gun control. They refuse to call them domestic terrorists. However, anytime a nonwhite male is the one to commit gun violence, they immediately jump to outlawing the person. They don’t care about gun violence; they care about hate.”
Speeches
The handmaidens continued their march through Pike Place, sparking conversations from locals and tourists alike, before heading to Overlook Walk, where a podium was set up around the base, From which speeches were given by Wylie, Evans, and Wilson.
“There will be times when the struggle seems impossible,” Wylie said. “You may ask, ‘Is there no one who can help us?’ and you may say, ‘I don’t like it, but there is nothing I can do about it right now.’ But freedom is a pure idea in the 249th year of this grand experiment, the one we call America. It’s not too late to take actions, both big and small, to throw off that yoke that they seek to put around our necks. We must become more than ourselves; we must become bigger than our fears. But what chance do we have? The question is, what choice do we have?”
Evans gave a similar speech as she stood in protest of the Trump administration. “He refused to be a second class citizen,” Evans stated, recounting her grandfather Lee Evans’ experience participating in the protests at the 1968 Olympic Games, one of the most significant displays of Black power and unity in sports. “With the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the clear agenda in Project 2025, it is clear what is being laid out — they are trying to make us
second-class citizens again, and we refuse to be second-class citizens. And we must fight back.
“I left the Department of Justice shortly after Trump took office, because it was becoming a department of injustice, and right now, here in Seattle, we need a city attorney that’s a fighter that aligns with our values.”
Wilson gave a personal speech on how access to abortion in Washington potentially saved her life. “I learned that there were many problems with the fetus,” she said. “Heart, brain, spine, everything, and I made the very difficult decision to have an abortion. And it was about as heartbreaking and difficult as you might expect to have an abortion at 24 weeks. And I also felt so grateful that I was able to make that decision, because at that time, looking around the country, I was so aware that so many women in so many states were losing the right to make that kind of choice.”
Reflecting on the damage that the overturning of Roe v. Wade has inflicted on women, she added, “And it’s not just about rights, it’s also about access and affordability. Because it’s one thing to have the right to make a choice about your body and your family, but it’s another to actually have access to the healthcare and to have that healthcare be affordable to you.”
ARIN WALLER
ARIN WALLER
ERIKA EVANS ARIN WALLER
KATIE WILSON ARIN WALLER
Christian nationalist event at Gas Works park sparks protest
BY ARIN WALLER
On August 30, a concert for Christian nationalist musician Sean Feucht was expected to take place at Cal Anderson Park. This outraged many in the Queer community, particularly those who had the spring Mayday USA protests fresh in their minds, leading some to tag the park with messages disparaging far-right groups. The Lavender Rights Project (LRP) also applied for a permit for a protest.
Although there wasn’t an official confirmation, it was revealed through a transcript of a Community Safety Planning meeting from the Seattle Police Department that Seattle Parks & Recreation had issued a
permit for Feucht’s concert in Cal Anderson Park. The city announced the concert after convincing the group to move its event to Gas Works Park instead. However, many were not sure that Feucht would agree to this compromise, seeing as he is someone with a history of disregarding permit rejections, and it was obvious that Feucht chose Cal Anderson Park specifically because it was the heart of the Queer community in Seattle. More concerning was Feucht’s ties with far-right militia groups, including The Proud Boys, given the announcement of a “Jesus March” from Cal Anderson to Gas Works at around 1 p.m. on the day of the
Turmoil at the Rendezvous
BY ARIN WALLER
Last month, it was announced through social media that the Rendezvous would be closing temporarily, citing renovations to the space after the bar was acquired by new management. This left many performers angry, as they had only found out about their performances being canceled through the post. However, the bar’s former booking director spoke to the SGN about what went on behind the scenes after the new ownership took over, highlighting some troubling aspects and red flags.
The Rendezvous, a bar and social club in Belltown, is home to a plethora of Queer community events, including meetups, film nights, and, of course, live performances. It is noted for being an affordable venue and a safe space for beginning performers and veterans alike.
Morgue Anne, a burlesque performer and the Thursday/Friday DJ at Neighbours (who used to perform with the late and great Roxy Doll), served as the booking director at the Rendezvous for the past three years, utilizing her role to highlight the Queer community and provide employment opportunities to various Queer performers. She describes to the SGN the events of
June and July, when staff were informed that the bar had been sold. Despite the new owners reassuring everyone that they would keep their jobs and that the transition would be as smooth as possible, according to Anne, what followed was a lack of communication and broken promises. In midAugust, when the paperwork transferring ownership was being signed, Anne was informed that the bar would be closed for a week. Afterward, she contacted performers who had shows scheduled that week to let them know that they were canceled — only to find out that the bar was going to be closed even longer, following a conversation with the current general manager and the new owner.
“I put them all in a group chat and said, ‘Hey guys, what’s going on?’” said Anne. “Suddenly, someone was able to produce a screenshot of an email that said, ‘Great, we’re going to be closed this day,’ and that was indicative of how difficult it was to get information…
“I was told we were going to continue operating as usual, and so … I was working under [that] assumption, but when I came into work that first Monday, after every-
event. Many expected the marchers to be armed and aggressive.
Though the permits for Feucht’s concert were revoked, LRP’s permits were still in place, and so the group held its own counterevent in Cal Anderson. At around 12 p.m., the festivities had already begun, and the entire shelter house was painted with the Transgender flag. Volunteers conducted reconnaissance to spot the marchers and hopefully block them from the main event, though when the time came, no one showed, aside from a few right-wing figures, including disgraced journalist Jonathan Choe.
Though Feucht was not off the hook when
it came to protesters. On one side, there was a group of people on a hill overlooking the concert with Pride flags planted into the ground. On the other, protesters near the barricades generated as much noise as possible, to disrupt the event, with kazoos and airhorns; one even had an Aztec death whistle. Despite the tension, the event remained relatively peaceful.
Near the end, after being shown an article about Sean Feucht using his ministry’s finances for his personal gain, a woman on the concert side claimed it was all lies, quoting her faith as proof that it was merely a ploy to lead her astray.
thing had been signed, [the new owner] was very confused to see me and called me later to let me know that I didn’t have a job there anymore, and kind of implied that it was weird for me to assume I still did.”
According to Anne, she was not the only one let go in this way, as she knows two bar staff employees who were told they were staying on, only to be fired through a phone call.
We asked Anne what direction she believed the business would go. She stated that she wasn’t entirely sure — in every conversation with the new owner, it seemed
he had a new and different plan. She said that she does not see the bar maintaining the Queer vibe it once had, based on her interactions with the few people she met.
As more Queer third spaces close, there are concerns that the new owners will abandon the Queer community for a wealthier clientele in this age of gentrification affecting various at-risk communities and minority groups.
The Rendezvous did not respond to the SGN ’s request for comment on Anne’s dismissal and the bar’s new ownership as of press time.
ARIN WALLER
ARIN WALLER
VIA THE RENDEZVOUS WEBSITE
ARIN WALLER
Engaged: Abby Acone on being an out media figure
BY ARUL GNANASIVAM
As the summer comes to an end, people all across Seattle check the weather report to try and catch the last couple of beautiful sunny days. Behind those reports is a member of Seattle’s Queer community, Abby Acone. A meteorologist for FOX13 Seattle, Acone has used her passion for journalism and meteorology to anchor the morning weather forecasts, informing viewers of what’s in store for them.
Born and raised in Bellevue, Acone started her journey at Washington State University before covering the weather in Colorado and returning to Seattle.
“My first job, I did reporting, like hard news and crime, and they also threw me up on the weather wall,” she told the SGN. “I was super reluctant and nervous to do it.”
That initial fear gave way to a love of science and communication. Not only did
Acone enjoy the analytical side of things, she also resonated with the communal aspect. “I liked that weather is a very practical way of helping people,” she said.
More recently, Acone has started anchoring the news as well. “It was something I was really apprehensive about,” she admitted. “There’s a degree of having to fake a confidence, but the more reps you get, the more that feels a lot more natural.”
Transitioning to anchor has also let Acone give back and inform the community that she grew up in. She recalled watching the local news every night with her family over dinner.“It feels really satisfying, not just achieving a lifelong personal dream of mine to work in the Seattle market but to help people that I actually know,” she said.
More recently Acone announced her engagement to her partner. Acone, who
identifies as Bisexual, met her fiancée in the spring of 2024 on Capitol Hill.“In fact, I met my fiancée at the Lesbian bar Wildrose,” she said. “So I have a lot of warm, fuzzy feelings when I think about Capitol Hill.”
Despite being in the public eye, Acone didn’t talk about her queerness publicly and kept this solely to her family and friends.
“For me the slow burn, the slow reveal of coming out over a long amount of time was really helpful for me,” she said. “It wasn’t something I incorporated into my career until very recently, and it has been an incredibly liberating and freeing experience.”
Acone also addressed the contradiction of working at FOX while being Queer, emphasizing that FOX13 Seattle is a separate local outlet from the national network,
while also acknowledging FOX News’s history of damaging rhetoric toward the Queer community.
“The Queer community has felt hurt by those national FOX hosts and commentators and I want to validate those experiences,” Acone said. “For me, it’s been such a different experience. I made sure to do my research about the local station, and it’s a very positive, warm encouraging environment here.”
Acone ended with some words of encouragement for other Queer people who are just getting started in news and media.
“It’s hard working for a place where it’s discouraged to be yourself,” she said. “I want to protect them and just encourage them to go to places where they’re going to feel that encouragement to be that authentic version of themselves.”
Trans Starbucks employee fired over minor dress code violation
Local union baristas still struggling for a contract
BY AUDREY OSCARSON
SGN STAFF WRITER
As we enter the height of pumpkin spice latte season, Starbucks is quietly continuing to crush unionization efforts, and its latest offense happened right here in Seattle.
Albany Halstead, a former Starbucks Reserve Roastery employee, was officially fired for a dress code violation. However, he believes that it had a lot more to do with his union involvement than what he was wearing.
“Of course having a distressed hem on my pants means that I can’t do a good job as a barista,” Halstead said sarcastically, “but it was more that I did not have a good relationship with my managers whatsoever, because I had been a very vocal barista, fighting really hard for my union baristas and nonunion baristas.”
In May 2025, Starbucks enforced a new, much stricter dress policy, which originally received backlash because many baristas had to spend their own money on new pants, shirts, and shoes so that they could continue working. Employees have filed lawsuits in both Illinois and Colorado, as the new policy violates state labor laws that require employers to reimburse employees for expenses that primarily benefit the employer.
But, as Halstead pointed out, the new policy has also created unique issues for Trans baristas.
“I know people at my store who were very outwardly Trans that were impacted negatively,” Halstead said. “They started getting misgendered a lot more, and when we brought these issues to management, there was not any support at all.”
The dress code update is just one of many changes Brian Niccol made when he
became the CEO in 2024, in an effort to bolster sales and improve the Starbucks atmosphere. At the Fast Company Innovation Festival on September 16, he emphasized that he wants to focus on providing exceptional service in order to retain customers, but baristas argue that having a handwritten message on cups won’t make up for the workers themselves being unhappy.
“To get this ‘back to Starbucks’ vibe, the baristas are being overshadowed a lot and pushed to the background.” Halstead said.
“It starts with the baristas that you have. There are a ton of really amazing, incredible baristas that work at Starbucks, especially in the Seattle area, and I really think it does a great disservice to Seattle itself that this company has totally monopolized the coffee market and at the same time is throwing away a lot of these baristas who are in Seattle that care really hard.”
Union benefits
Starbucks Workers United, the union representing the company’s employees across the country, has been fighting for a contract since 2021, when the first Starbucks unionized in Buffalo, NY. But when Niccol was announced as the new CEO just over a year ago, negotiations were halted. However, the number of unionized stores has only gone up, and current Starbucks employee Ari Bray has seen more people turn to the union because of the changes.
“Within the union, we have protections, and you’ve got your folks to stand with you with all of the weird punches the company is trying to throw at us,” Bray said. “People
are seeking protection within the union because the policies are bogus. The union is there to protect everyone in their jobs.”
Although Halstead is no longer employed by Starbucks, he is still advocating for his former coworkers and fighting his termination.
“I’m fighting it crazy, crazy hard right now,” Halstead said, “and luckily, because I am a union-represented barista, I have all these really important protections that I wouldn’t have the option to utilize if I was a nonunion barista.”
Historically, Starbucks has presented itself as a progressive company, providing pronoun pins and health insurance that includes gender-affirming care, but as the culture in America shifts toward conservatism, the union has become more and more necessary to make sure these benefits are enforced.
“There’s this façade about [Starbucks] being very pro-worker, very pro-Queer, but at the end of the day, they’re a multibilliondollar international company, and they’re here to exploit people,” Bray said. “If that means exploiting Queer workers so that they can get liberals in the door because they think, ‘I’m doing a good thing by supporting Starbucks,’ then they’ll do it.”
Because of the high number of Queer employees at Starbucks, there are also a
high number of unionized Queer people at Starbucks.
“Our entire union is super, super Queer, because this image that Starbucks presents is that it’s a safe space for Queer workers. The biggest way that our union is protecting Queer and Trans workers is that we are working really hard for a contract, and we have very specific protections for Trans and Queer workers,” Halstead said.
Halstead and Bray are both encouraging people to sign the “No Contract, No Coffee” pledge organized by Starbucks Workers United to stay updated on the fight for a contract and to pledge to not cross the picket line when your local baristas are striking.
“We’re ready whenever Starbucks is,” Halstead said. “Whenever Starbucks decides that it wants to actually protect its workers and actually make [their] lives much better, we’re ready for them.”
The SGN reached out to Starbucks for comment on Halstead’s dismissal and its new dress policy. The corporation replied with a statement that said it “respects the rights of our partners to freely associate and bargain collectively. No Starbucks partner has been or will be disciplined or separated for supporting, organizing, or otherwise engaging in lawful union activity.”
METEOROLOGIST ABBY ACONE PHOTO VIA FACEBOOK
Stonewall News Northwest: Capturing the stories of rural communities across the PNW
BY NOVA BERGER
Mt. Rainier or Brokeback Mountain?
They may as well be the same at Stonewall News Northwest (stonewallnews.net), in which publisher Mike Schultz showcases the voices and stories of rural LGBTQIA+ communities.
For Schultz, the point is not just about setting but about voice: making sure Queer communities in rural areas of the Northwest are seen and heard.
It’s no surprise the woods hold many stories. Hundreds make the trek every week to climb, swim, backpack, and share stories on the peaks, which are an escape for so many here in Seattle. Yet they also hold so many of the stories of people already living there. There’s simplicity there, where people can live freely and authentically.
“These are places where there are shared values, straight or Queer, encompass getting to know and support neighbors,” said Schultz. “A strong sense of grounding and gratitude, relationships, trust and honor. And not being in such a rush all the time.”
Schultz’s story
Schultz’s story is similar. Growing up in suburbs and having lived in Sacramento and Spokane, he learned the value of simple pleasures as life’s treasures early on.
Adopted into a religious family, he also grew up watching his father, a Lutheran minister, risk his standing by supporting the ordination of Lesbian ministers in the 1980s, and his mother, a teacher, standing against stigma by collecting donations for AIDS relief when few others would.
“Those very visible actions of principled courage and compassion left indelible impressions on me of what a caring humanity should be like,” said Schultz.
Their example instilled in him a lifelong belief in equality, inclusion, and the power of principled action. Over the years, Schultz has carried that forward through his publishing work, including Stonewall, Q View Northwest, and Coastal Pride
Finding love
Schultz has a lot of love in his life, including a love for history, which he shares with his beloved.
In 2006, he met his partner Steven online when the latter lived in Bellingham. Six months later, Steven moved to Spokane to be with Schultz, and they purchased the historic Muzzy Mansion to restore and preserve the property.
Since then the couple has worked hard to maintain more history, like Seattle’s classic motor yachts Itineras and Luxuria. Schultz later bought two houses and a vacant lot in Ocean Shores. It was from there that he started Coastal Pride (www.coastalpride. net) to cover community from a Queer perspective.
Although rural communities may see fewer social pressures that a city may bring, that doesn’t necessarily always make things easier for the Queer communities living there. Schultz says they often suffer a “vacuum of relative isolation.” That isolation inspired Stonewall News Northwest, which began Spokane in 1992 as Stonewall News Spokane, founded by Larry Stone to give the Inland Northwest’s LGBTQIA+ community a dedicated voice. In 1995, John Deen purchased the paper and renamed it Stonewall News Northwest to reflect a broader regional reach across Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Over the years, it became both a vital news source and a chronicle of Queer life, activism, and culture in the region.
In 2005, Schultz purchased the publication, carrying forward its legacy while adding his own vision for preserving and expanding Queer media in the Northwest until 2007, at which point he went on to publish Q View Northwest
In 2023, Schultz purchased the SGN from Angela Cragin, daughter of longtime publisher George Bakan. During his eightmonth tenure and beyond, he pursued his passion for preserving the paper’s digital and physical archives. In mid-2024, Schultz sold the publishing arm of the SGN to current publisher Renee Raketty.
This February, Schultz relaunched Stonewall as a printed monthly counterweight to political hostility and a platform for rural Queer lives. Stonewall serves communities from Eastern Washington (Spokane, Pullman, Walla Walla, and the Tri-Cities) all the way to North Idaho (including Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, and Sandpoint).
Stonewall now works with the SGN, sharing news and information, and also partners with FaVS News and RANGE farther inland.
“There’s something significant to be said about how our nuanced publications function in this hostile sociopolitical climate by working together as allies — a refreshing (and likely necessary) change from the past when publishers and publications were isolated and territorial,” Schultz said.
“This Stonewall reboot arrives at a perilous time,” he added. “Volleys of executive hategrenade edicts are being tossed out the White House day after day, many ignoring the Constitution and due process. Over five hundred anti-LGTBQ+ bills (and counting) are now in state legislatures across the country.”
Schultz sees it not as a business with rigid goals but as a living project that grows with the people it represents — whether amplifying rural Queer life, celebrating local history, or spotlighting new expressions of pride. For him, the work is less about building an institution than about honoring his parents’ example: extending love, dignity, and recognition to those who deserve to be
seen and celebrated.
The SGN spoke with Schultz about his background, the revival of Stonewall, and why the stories of woods still are vital to share.
Nova Berger: You’ve been involved in Queer publishing for decades. What first drew you into it?
Mike Schultz: Preserving our Queer history and voice as a community was paramount in my choice to buy Stonewall Publishing Inc in 2005 from the former publisher, who was dying of lung cancer. The strong possibility of Stonewall’s chronicled local Queer culture and history since 1992 being lost to time was incomprehensible to me. With no prior publishing experience, I learned what was needed and, with the help of staff and the community, we picked up where the former publisher was leaving off.
NB: You grew up in both California and Washington. How did that shape your sense of what a Queer publication should be?
MS: Growing up in tiny Caruthers, California, then the suburbs of Sacramento, and later Spokane, Washington, shaped a more rural sense of home and community. Shared values — straight or Queer — meant getting to know and support neighbors. A strong sense of grounding and gratitude, relationships, trust, and honor. And not being in such a rush all the time.
NB: A lot of Queer media is city-based. What makes the PNW countryside a unique place to tell Queer stories?
MS: Rural communities are generally underserved. Queer people in rural places often live in a vacuum of relative isolation. Visibility is harder to come by, community is harder to sustain. But there’s also a freedom — less pressure to conform to urban standards, more opportunity to simply be That’s why Stonewall matters: to connect those dots and create a conduit of empowerment.
NB: Why relaunch Stonewall now?
MS: I don’t think there’s ever a bad time to do what we can to foster open dialogue, disseminate information, and create unity. But the impetus to relaunch Stonewall in February of this year was a direct counter to the result of the last election. Right out of the gate, this administration has been aggressive and brutal in its efforts to suffocate equality, inclusiveness, and basic human dignity. I’m not able to sit on the sidelines in the face of that assault.
NB: What kinds of stories go untold in rural LGBTQIA+ communities?
MS: Everything from Pride events in small towns to the everyday ways people show up for one another. One of our most popular features this year was the PNW Pride Guide, which listed nearly 50 rural Pride events across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Pulling all that together made clear how vibrant these communities are — even if they’re often overlooked.
NB: You and your husband Steven have literally hauled print editions across snowy roads. What keeps you motivated?
MS: [laughs] It’s the gritty side of publishing. But for me, it’s about facilitating — maintaining a conduit of community empowerment through current and historical information. Activism isn’t only about protests and demonstrations. Even the sheer act of being our authentic selves is considered rebellious by some. Printing and delivering those papers is activism too.
NB: The name “Stonewall” carries a lot of weight. What does it mean to you in this Northwest context?
MS: The Stonewall riots in 1969 cemented a legacy of struggle and resistance. With hurled bricks and tiaras, Queer people shouted to the world: “We’ve had enough.” That message applies everywhere — urban or rural. Here in the Northwest, it’s echoed in Pride celebrations held in the rain, in logging towns, in fields and community halls. Rural Pride events in general — in their own uniquely individual way — are defiant and proud.
NB: You’ve been at this since the 1990s. How does it feel to be ushering Queer media into a new generation?
MS: It’s a privilege. As a society, how we share information will always evolve, but for me, serving in this way — preserving, informing, supporting, empowering, elevating — continues to be my calling.
Through Stonewall News Northwest, Schultz is carrying forward a legacy rooted in both history and geography: one that insists that rural Queer lives are worthy not just of preservation but of celebration. Out in the woods, the voices are loud and clear. “We are all connected as one humanity,” he said. “We all bear this cross of resistance: to publicly stand up and fight this invasion of hate, to push the pendulum of humanity back toward inclusion, dignity, and equality. And we must do it now.”
Stonewall News
MIKE SCHULTZ
COURTESY STONEWALL NEWS NORTHWEST
Justice for Nikki Armstrong: A Transgender woman’s story of assault, survival, and perseverance
BY MADISON JONES SGN MANAGING EDITOR
Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of violence, transphobia, and derogatory language.
On September 15, Nikki Armstrong, a 39-year-old Transgender woman, was the victim of a violent, hate-filled assault in Renton, Washington by a group of three teenage boys and one young man.
According to the Renton Police Department’s Meeghan Black, at 8 p.m., the department responded to an assault in progress, having received witness contacts and several video clips. Two suspects, a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy, were arrested that day and registered into juvenile detention.
As of Sept. 24, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has announced that Ranmore Elias Edwards, (age 25), Zihreal Jhreem Porter (16), Kobe Aaron Benson (17), and James Harold Benson (15) have all been charged with assault in the second degree and a hate crime. The three teenage defendants have all pleaded not guilty. The arraignment of the 25-yearold defendant, when an initial plea will be entered, is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sept. 25 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
Armstrong’s story
Armstrong recalled the whole sequence of events to the SGN. Her story began at the Renton Transit Center, which Armstrong frequents. “I take the bus at least 10 times a week just for work,” she said, “and then for whatever other transportation needs I have. I’ve been down there thousands of times.”
But on that day, Armstrong noticed a group of high school boys hanging around, harassing passersby. “They were picking on literally everybody,” adding, “Everybody who was coming up, they were insulting them, harassing them, and you could tell that they were just trying to pick a reaction out of people.”
Armstrong then decided to confront the teenagers about their inappropriate behavior, reportedly saying, “Hey, don’t you kids have anything better to do?,” which was not received well by the group, who then yelled obscenities as well as transphobic and homophobic slurs, according to Armstrong. After leaving the scene to spend time at a nearby bar, Armstrong then returned to her
bus stop, where the teenagers were waiting for her. She felt threatened by this, explaining, “I dug in my bag real quick and pulled out my pepper spray. And a couple of them ran up on me, and I ran across the street to try and get away from them, because I didn’t even have the can ready to spray.”
She said the group of teenagers at first were taunting her by charging her closely, within a few feet, and then backed away, laughing, but that quickly changed. “When one of them got really close, I sprayed it a little bit,” she said. “And as soon as I sprayed it and the spray hit him, he said, ‘Get that faggot!’”
Fearing for her life, Armstrong recalled running away frantically for about a block before tripping. “And when I fell down, they ran up and kicked me in the ribs and then just started beating me, all four of them,” she said.
As for why she thought they decided to target her, she reflected then said, “I was just trying to sort of stand up for everybody else at the bus station, just because they were obviously deliberately harassing people. And yeah, they took it out on me.”
The four boys made it clear their attack was motivated by hate, she said. “When they were stomping on me and punching me, they were like, they were, you know, yelling slurs as they were hitting me… It was 100% a hate crime.”
She reported trying her best to fight back, since she has a background in martial arts. “I was doing everything I could to get away, but they started choking me. Basically, one of them grabbed me around the throat and fell over on his back. So he was laying on his back on the ground, and I was laying on his chest as he was choking me, and his friends were stomping me while he was choking me, and that is when I went unconscious.
“At the end when I started to pass out, I was 100% certain that they were ending my life. So it was pretty scary, and I was really grateful to wake up when I came to.”
Now conscious, she then ran across the parking lot to a nearby bar where a security guard then called 911 for her.
Injuries Armstrong shared the full extent of the bodily harm she received from the assault. “They broke my nasal septum. They broke
the bridge of my nose. They broke, like, my whole nose to a pulp. They broke my orbital bone above my right eye and my occipital bone underneath my right eye. [I have] minor facial fractures in my forehead and in the bone above my eye, what makes up your whole eyebrow bone.”
Because Armstrong was also nine months post-op from facial feminization surgery (FFS) and not yet fully healed, she believes that might have exacerbated her injuries. She expressed sadness that after all the time and money invested in getting FFS, it had been ruined by the injuries she received.
But the injury that caused her the most pain during the interview was her ribs. “Once they started kicking me in the ribs and I started trying to cover up my face, they were just stomping on my back,” she said. “And so my ribs are all bruised and damaged, and it’s hard to take a breath in or find a comfy place to lie down, and I keep getting muscle spasms that constrict on the damaged ribs.”
She mentioned that, although surgery won’t be needed for her ribs, “the doctor said it was pretty likely that I was going to need to get a metal plate above right eye. And then full reconstruction of my nose for sure. They flattened my nose, like, completely.”
Community support
Armstrong said her health insurance will be able to cover surgery, while out-ofpocket costs will most likely be covered by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office violent crimes compensation fund; she also mentioned how King County will also be assigning her a violent crimes coordinator to help manage the whole process, remarking that “they’ve been really nice so far.”
A GoFundMe was also established to help Armstrong pay for daily living expenses while she waits for her claim to cover the costs of her medical leave. She emphasized how the stress of having a wife and child at home and no way of covering rent and bills was her primary concern the next day.
“I woke up the morning after, with no idea what I was going to do,” she said. “And I just made the GoFundMe on a whim, and within like three hours, all my problems
were solved.” She expressed strong gratitude for the people who’ve contributed so far: “I can’t even begin to say how much better I feel about it.”
She also expressed gratitude for Renton community members who’ve reached out. She mentioned the assistant principal of Renton High School, Rashaad Powell, who had recently given her flowers and a personal apology with a card signed by the school’s administrative staff .
As for the hopes she has for the teenagers who assaulted her, she said, “I hope that they learn a lesson from it. I hope that in thinking about it, their own behavior is so scary to them that they never consider doing this to somebody else again.”
She is optimistic about their potential for change: “People can absolutely change. And I’m a firm believer in that, and I usually think it’s some type of big life event is the catalyst for that change. And so hopefully they take this and use it to motivate themselves toward something better.”
City Councilmember Carmen Rivera
The SGN also reached out to Renton City Councilmember Carmen Rivera to comment on Armstrong’s situation and the broader issue of LGBTQIA+ community safety in her district. As public safety chair of Renton City Council, she said, “We have been seeing an uptick in hateful rhetoric, which is why I ran for office.”
Rivera told the SGN she has witnessed hateful attacks like what had happened to Armstrong firsthand as a resident born and raised in Renton. Also, as member of the Renton Equity Commission, she reported that the board is currently seeking to help fundraise for Armstrong’s recovery.
Rivera expressed her frustration with politicians who are contributing to an increasingly hostile climate toward Transgender people. “When it comes to hate toward the Trans community, people on both sides of the aisle are feeding into the rhetoric,” she said. She called on leaders to instead seek solutions that will end the cycle of violence.
Regarding hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people in Renton in the past, she said, “I know of instances of violence against the LGBTQ+ community and other communities. It plagues Renton like it plagues any city.”
COURTESY NIKKI ARMSTRONG
And as a Queer, Latina politician, Rivera emphasized the work she’s done while in office to combat the issue. “Around April or May, we referred the development of increased LGBTQ protections and immigration protections to our mayor’s office,” she said. “Cities can pass this legislation in addition to proclamations, which is often performative but something.”
Even if local municipalities are only able to release a public statement of support, to Rivera, it is important that communities stand firm for the safety of their LGBTQIA+ citizens. She also stated that
Armstrong’s story and this issue would be a major point of focus during her next meeting with Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone. Rivera also commented on the teenage boys who committed the assault. “I worked in a juvenile prison for several years,” she said. “They clearly have learned some very toxic masculinity kind of stuff.” Having administered gender justice training to juvenile offenders, she stressed the importance of seeing and learning from strong woman like herself, and how that can help to humanize and shift young boys’ and men’s perspectives.
She also expressed concern that the Green Hill School facility where the teenagers will most likely be sent has unfortunately currently been experiencing overcrowding. Worried they may not be able to get the services they need, Rivera said, “I hope they can receive to treatment they need to teach them why this is wrong.”
In Rivera’s final thoughts, she pointed to the bigger picture. “The Trans community is very much a red herring, to distract from the affordability crisis, the environment crisis, and the housing crisis. It is a lot easier to get angry about a community you
know nothing about.”
Although Rivera made it a point to acknowledge the harm other police departments have caused to LGBTQIA+ communities, like with the Seattle Police Department’s response to the Mayday USA protests, she emphasized, in contrast, the great job Renton’s police department has done handling Armstrong’s case and building a trusting relationship with the community. “I encourage members of the community to report events like these to the Renton Police Department,” she stated.
Protesters
call on Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and AG Nick Brown to reinstitute gender-affirming services
BY ARIN WALLER
About a hundred people gathered in Wright Park in Tacoma on Saturday, September 12, to protest a decision by Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital to cease providing gender-affirming care (GAC) for new patients.
The hospital, owned and operated by MultiCare Health System, is one of the only pediatric hospitals serving southwest Washington. Because of this, it provides a wide range of such care, including GAC for Trans youth.
The hospital announced in a statement at the beginning of September that it would no longer provide gender-related health services for new patients starting September 12, including existing patients who are not currently receiving GAC medications. This has left many Trans children and families in Pierce County with no other options aside from possibly receiving care at Seattle Children’s Hospital, about 40 miles from Tacoma.
Understandably, many feel angry, considering that the law in Washington prohibits hospitals from discriminating against patients based on gender identity, which includes denying healthcare services. Despite this, Attorney General Nick Brown has yet to release a public statement addressing the issue. Some are calling upon Brown to intervene and halt this development.
One such group is the Tacoma and Pierce County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which organized a rally on the day the order was to take effect.
“We are here because Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital ended new gender-affirm-
ing care for minors today, and we find that unacceptable,” said Cassandra Majors of the DSA. “And we are here to fight back, we’re here to raise awareness, and we are here to put pressure on Mary Bridge and AG Brown to do their jobs.”
The event was held at Wright Park, next to the Tacoma General Hospital campus, where Mary Bridge is located. Many in attendance at the event held picket signs, some facing passing motorists. (The DSA is also circulating a petition to have Mary Bridge resume its GAC program and apply pressure to elected officials.)
One of the guest speakers was Raine, a Nonbinary pediatric nurse, who recounted how they have dealt with patients who have attempted to take their own lives, due to not having the proper support networks and care for gender dysphoria.
“I have cared for patients as young as 13 who have tried to take their own lives because they felt so uncomfortable with their own bodies that death was a better escape,” Raine said. “I know of patients who did not make it out of the ICU because we were too late and society was too cruel. By eliminating gender-affirming care, we
make it more difficult to treat these patients with the tools and resources they need.
“As a nurse, I try very hard to maintain a professional demeanor and to separate myself from the trauma I witness in my line of work. But some days are harder than others. Some days, it becomes unbearable to witness a child struggling to live and find acceptance when you can relate so closely to their lived experiences.”
Later, a few of the Trans youth impacted by this change spoke. “This targets more than just gender-affirming care; it targets minority children who want and hope for someone to accept them,” said Hades. Regarding GAC, Hades added, “It’s not going to help everything, but it heals. It makes you able to portray yourself to the world as to who you really are. You finally get to be able to feel comfortable in your own skin.”
Millie related their experience of being a transplant from Texas to the disappointment they feel about anti-Trans discrimination in Washington, with the rallying cry, “Don’t Texas my Washington!”
“I did not travel three thousand miles across multiple deserts, through several mountain ranges, halfway across this Goddang continent just for the awful legislation I was escaping to follow me here,” they said. “Don’t Texas my Washington! I did not put my education and career on hold, have to take an additional year to graduate college, have to spend extra thousands of dollars on out-of-state tuition just to watch the same issues that affected me as a kid seeking Trans healthcare in Texas to affect kids up here. Don’t Texas my Washington!”
ARIN WALLER
ARIN WALLER
NATIONAL NEWS
Texas legislature bans Transgender people from public bathrooms
This story was originally published by The 19th at https://19thnews.org/2025/09/ texas-trans-bathrooms
Texas is poised to become the latest state to bar Transgender people from using public bathrooms after the Senate passed a bill [on Sept. 3] that also bans Transgender people from using locker rooms or from being incarcerated in facilities that align with their genders.
The bill, which Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign, is the latest in a slew of anti-Trans measures passed in the state, and the most recent anti-Trans bathroom bill passed by states in recent years. Nineteen states already have some form
BY KATE SOSIN
of a Transgender bathroom ban, and Texas has weighed more than 16 such bans over the past decade
The bill sets a $25,000 fine for any government agency or public institution, such as a school or university, that violates the policy and a $125,000 fine for a second offense. The fines make it the most financially punitive bathroom bill in the nation, according to The Texas Tribune
Emmett Schelling, executive director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, said in a statement that he was “devastated to see this atrocious legislation pass.”
“Make no mistake, Trans people have always and will always survive,” Schelling said. “They can try as hard as they want
SPORTS
Noelle Quinn is out as Seattle Storm’s head coach, leaves a complicated legacy
BY CALVIN JAY EMERSON
SGN ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The Seattle Storm has decided to part ways with head coach Noelle Quinn, following a rocky 2025 season that saw the team struggle to stay in the playoffs despite a promising start.
Insiders have reported that Quinn’s fiveperson coaching staff has also been let go, but the Storm have yet to confirm their firings. The search for a new head coach begins immediately, and will have to be resolved before the 2026 season begins in early May.
“On behalf of the organization, I would like to thank Noelle for her time with the Storm,” said Storm GM Talisa Rhea. “Her commitment to the ongoing success of our organization and to furthering the development of our players was second to none. She put us in a position to win at the highest levels of the game, and for that, we are grateful.”
Quinn has long supported Seattle’s championship endeavors. She’s a player-coach who ended her career as an athlete on a high note, working alongside the dream team of Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, and Breanna Stewart during the Storm’s 2018 championship run. After retiring, she immediately found her place on the sidelines, helping out as an
assistant coach. The Storm ran it back for their fourth championship in 2020.
The next year, when former head coach Dan Hughes decided midseason to step away from the team, he chose to appoint Quinn as his successor. “I am excited to hand the reins to Noelle,” Hughes said at the time. “She is well positioned to do this job, and I am proud to have mentored her during my time here.”
In her half-decade spent holding the reins, Coach Quinn was a steady hand who kept the Storm competitive, even as they faced storms of their own. She had to deal with the dream team splintering apart, unleashing messy emotions in the process. Bird continues to be celebrated in retirement, while Stewart left unceremoniously and Loyd’s departure was the result of a lot of toxic, offcourt baggage between her and the coaching staff. While other teams got to enjoy the benefits of the WNBA’s flourishing present, Quinn was stuck dealing with the loose ends of the past.
Still, to her credit, Quinn made sure the team was a regular fixture in the playoffs. The Storm only failed to make the postseason once in her head-coaching career,
— nobody will ever shatter the Trans community or take away our deep and innate understanding of who we genuinely are. We know exactly who we are, and we will continue to fight for a better Texas, a better home for us all.”
Mo Jenkins, chief of staff for Rep. Laura Simmons, said the consequences of the law will not be theoretical but brutal and deadly.
“When innocent people are harassed, beaten, or killed because of the fear and misinformation you are choosing to codify into law, their blood will not just be on the hands of their attackers, it will be in this chamber,” said Jenkins, who is a Black Trans woman.
The measure aims to prevent Texas
prisons from housing Transgender detainees in alignment with their gender, a rule that could violate the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, which requires prisons and jails to place Trans people where they believe they will be safest. It is unclear yet if advocates will challenge the bill in court once it becomes law.
About a quarter of Transgender people (26%) live in states that have some form of a bathroom ban. Transgender advocates argue that such laws fail in the aim to increase safety and instead expose Transgender people to increased harassment and violence. They also point out that they are hard to enforce, relying on individuals to discern who is and is not Transgender.
when a Loyd-dependent team saw their wins plummet in 2023. Quinn thankfully recognized the need for change, and in the offseason, began rebuilding the Storm around the dynamic, all-star duo of Skyler Diggins and Nneka Oguwumike.
This year, the first fully without Bird, Loyd, and Stewart, should have been the season in which the Storm fully asserted their new identity, and the start of a successful future, with its on-court play authored fully by Quinn herself. Instead, the team suffered a brutal, six-game collapse in August and never quite recovered their momentum.
The misfortune continued into the playoffs, as the Las Vegas Aces blew out the
Storm by 30 points in their first postseason match. Seattle crawled back to almost reclaim the series, only to lose their final match by a gut-wrenching single point. The Aces have routinely spoiled Quinn’s postseason dreams: they’ve eliminated the Storm across three different years, including Sue Bird’s final game.
Despite the heartbreak, Quinn remained proud of her players through the very end. “I just wanted it so bad for this group, because they worked so hard,” she said. “That’s the competitor in me. I played so much basketball, sometimes I wish I was out there with them.”
TRANS RIGHTS ACTIVISTS PROTEST AT THE TEXAS CAPITOL ERIC GAY/ AP
JOSHUA HUSTON
Meet the Mudhens: Through rugby, Queer solidarity between Woman and Nonbinary players
BY CALVIN JAY EMERSON
SGN ASSOCIATE EDITOR
“AND DRIVE, TWO, THREE! AND DRIVE, TWO, THREE!” cries out Mandy Sue, in the center of an intertangled, five-person formation. With their backs locked at 90 degrees and their arms intertwined, they’re in what’s called a “scrum.” They push their collective strength into a large contraption of foam and metal called the “scrum sled,” until it moves 10–15 feet down the turf.
Five other gals have been standing atop the sled to create its weight, watching the formation from above. Lisa Cooper, one of the assistant coaches, steps off the sled to give Mandy Sue some advice. The ten teammates gather around and spark a group conversation on areas for improvement and best techniques, trading tips and tricks. They’re waiting for the Quake, the men’s rugby team, to end their practice.
Together, they are the Seattle Mudhens. You could say they’re the Quake’s womxn equivalent, but you’d be doing them a disservice. They’re so much more than that.
On a chilly Wednesday evening, the team had their last practice before a big game: a double-header against the Portland Pigs. Players who wanted extra preparation, like
Mandy Sue, arrived a half-hour early. Lisa was there to make sure they got what they needed.
“She’s playing the position I held for a long time, so I try to pass on what I learned, from what I’ve done, when I can,” said Lisa, “especially since she’s in a leadership role as the front of the scrum, a uniquely technical role.”
Occasionally, a group of sweaty, burly Quake players will pass through, on their way to a water break. The two teams are independent of each other, but given they share the same field and sport, there’s a mutual respect. Notably, when a player transitions and wants to play on a team that affirms their gender, the Quake and Mudhens actually work together to make that process happen.
There are at least two or three transmasc players, however, who’ve chosen to stay with the Mudhens, and they’ve been accepted for exactly who they are. Given how the NCAA currently restricts Trans women to only male teams, and that they haven’t even reached pro leagues in the NBA, NFL, etc., the amount of freedom
that the Mudhens offer their Trans peers is revolutionary by comparison.
When the men wrapped up, Lisa and the coaches gathered the players for a brief social icebreaker, just before sending them to run a few laps around the field. As her team jogged, head coach Janel Hammer noticed that a Quake player was wearing his tackle suit backwards.
“They’re supposed to protect your legs…” she said in frustration, though she didn’t intrude on their exercise.
The Mudhens take safety seriously. The sport itself has built-in standards that, once they become muscle memory, allow players to repeatedly tackle each other without headgear: Always use your arms, rather than your whole body. Keep your eyes on your target, and never connect above the chest.
“When you get tackled, tuck your chin,” said assistant coach Mary as a reminder, after word’s gone around that someone got whiplash at the last practice. “There’s a right way and a wrong way to get tackled.”
Just as the sun set, the real work began. The Mudhens put on yellow and orange skins, then began to gracefully bash into
each other. They now had the entire field to themselves, on which they enacted an endless gauntlet of plays in rush after rush of toppling, cascading bodies.
Watching from the bleachers was Tea, a Nonbinary rookie with a punk rock aesthetic, sidelined with their friend Jenny, who, they admitted, they tattled on accidentally when she got whiplash last practice. No hard feelings. The pair laugh it off. As the practice settled into a cold, dark night, I asked Tea what drew them to rugby. They tell me that, because rugby isn’t common in America, they believe it’s been coopted by Queer, masculine womxn who want a space where they can be included in contact sports.
Every Mudhen has a different story to tell, yet because they all share a love for an unorthodox game, they’ve created a space of genuine positivity and self-affirmation.
“I grew up in mosh pits, so it’s been fun to mimic that in a sportsmanship kind of way,” said Tea. “I feel like a lot more of us are touch-starved than we realize, especially in Seattle. So yeah, having someone tackle you to the ground? It has a real appeal.”
Raleigh, Suarez, and maybe an Etsy Witch keep Mariners inspired, seeking playoff push
BY CALVIN JAY EMERSON
SGN ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The best sports fandoms have a dose of healthy superstition. If you ask a Mariners fan about the ten-game winning streak earlier in September, it’ll be explained a dozen different ways. Some will point you to the “Etsy Witch,” who was paid to cast a good luck spell over the team. Others will cite the mustache theory, which believes that success correlates to how many players in the clubhouse have the same facial hair.
Everyone can agree on one thing, however: With the most home runs of any catcher in major league history, Cal Raleigh’s the MVP. It’s the three letters you’ll always hear when he steps up to bat. His swings have repeatedly saved the team from dire losses this season. Among locals, he’s “the Big Dumper,” an unquestionable fan favorite. Nationally, he became the Home Run Derby champion back in July, slamming 54 homers in seven minutes or less.
Raleigh’s offensive horsepower has slowed since summertime, but his early explosiveness forced the front office, often criticized for being too fiscally conservative, to actually make some bold decisions, including multiple trades with the Arizona Diamondbacks that added two batters to the offense: the beloved former Mariner Eugenio Suarez
and the gruff yet reliable Josh Naylor.
Similar to Raleigh, Suarez became known for his ability to rack up home runs while in Phoenix. While fans hoped he would continue firing on all cylinders, his batting average has decreased by 20% since his return to Seattle. The hope remains that these are just growing pains. Regardless, Suarez’s greatest strength is his ability to raise morale. His teammates have always loved him. His personal motto is “Good Vibes Only.” He’s a man with many, many friends and very few enemies.
“This is my first year playing with him, and he impacted me a lot,” Naylor said. “Just his love of baseball, for his teammates. Kind of high energy every single day... He’s incredible.”
Naylor’s an equally unique bag of talents. He’s one of the slowest guys in baseball. Most players could beat him in a foot race. Yet because of his cunning, he’s paradoxically stolen 16 bases in his short time as a Mariner. Naylor plays smarter, not harder. When he hits a ball, it’s unlikely to leave the park. Instead, he can reliably send it into corners that’ll befuddle outfielders and give himself all the time he needs. When the bases are loaded, he’s the one you want
to see holding the bat.
“He’s a really smart, heady player, able to be aggressive with the bases as well,” said team manager Dan Wilson about Naylor. “He wears you down, he grinds you down… That’s just him, that’s what he does.”
With new faces fueling their fire, the Mariners had the strength to tear through their longtime rivals, the Houston Astros, with a crucial, three-game sweep. They’re now on a warpath to win the AL West, a feat they haven’t achieved since 2001. The only challenge left is to survive a home stand against last year’s World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers,
before securing their historic victory. How have they been so dominant, after a 24-year-long drought? It’s not just thanks to Raleigh, or Suarez, or Naylor. It’s thanks to the effort of a whole team, working together in harmony, able to count on each other to get the job done.
“Everybody usually wants to be the guy, but hopefully with the lineup getting deeper and us trusting each other a little more like that, we can rely on each other and we can really try to pass the baton,” said Raleigh, when asked about Suarez in July. “Just not feeling like we need a big three-run homer to win it. We just keep going, just keep passing it.”
COURTESY SEATTLE MUDHENS
MARINERS WIN DANCE, SEPT. 12, 2025 ASPEN COAKE
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Virtual fists fly as PAX West hosts $10,000 pro Tekken tournament in Seattle
BY CALVIN JAY EMERSON
SGN ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Given that it’s getting toward the end of summer, Seattle goes all out around Labor Day for outdoor activities. Concerts! Paddle raves! Bumbershoot! With all these fresh-air festivities, you likely missed what was going on inside: the largest Tekken 8 tournament ever held on the West Coast.
For those unaware, Tekken 8 is the latest version of a popular fighting video game from 1995. With its then-impressive 3D visuals and insane characters, like Yoshimitsu (a demonic samurai) and Kuma (just an actual grizzly bear on its hind legs), Tekken became one of the first titles to bring people together for competitive gaming. The fighting game community has been thriving for decades, long before League of Legends and DOTA 2 redefined it all for the mainstream as “e-sports.”
Today, in 2025, Tekken is no longer as popular as it used to be. Yet on the last day of PAX West, a gaming festival, it was the main event, the finale of the “Almost Pro” championship. Twenty-four players, who had spent the weekend surviving a gauntlet of increasingly difficult challengers, were now gunning for a championship belt and their share of $10,000!
To avoid elimination, each player has to win three rounds in a series of high-intensity battles. If you can look past the cyborgs and laser swords, Tekken ends up feeling a lot like boxing. Each player has to make constant, split-second decisions on when to attack and when to defend themselves. Button mashing won’t work here. If you fight carelessly, you’ll be quickly sent home.
“Seconds is the name of the game,” said ZiggyZensei, who is both a player and coach for the competitive gaming group LongStyle. “We play around frames, and it is lightning quick. You need to have your own kind of rhythm, setting your own pace. If you’re comfortable, it’s good. If you’re uncomfortable, then you need to get comfortable.”
Not everyone manages to settle in. Unlucky combatants are knocked off the stage one game at a time, and eventually, only four players would remain: Hidetone, a Tekken YouTuber; Jaboikyran, the defending champion from Seattle; Dr. theJAKEMAN, a wildcard from SoCal who plays as the wrestler King; and Shaundude who, ironically for his name, plays as the feminine heiress Lili de Rochefort.
Lili’s flips, kicks, and tricks, despite her gracefulness, couldn’t protect Shaundude from being backed into a corner by Jaboikyran’s sharp eye. Playing as Steve Fox, a British boxer with a mean fist, Jaboikyran would catch Shaundude by surprise with an unexpected uppercut or nasty left hook, inspiring his supportive LongStyle friends to leap out of their chairs to celebrate their guy! Through sheer reflexes and brute force, the champ made his way to the final round. Meanwhile, Dr. theJAKEMAN had been playing the long game, working his way up through the losers’ bracket until he’s suddenly a serious contender. In his big match against Hidetone, he bided his time, patiently blocking blows until he suddenly leaped into action, pulling his opponent
For five years, Seattle-based fashion designer Bryce Rail has hosted Pride Fashion Week, a runway show that uplifts the Queer community and promotes gender diversity and inclusivity. The event also raises money for Lambert House, a local LGBTQ+ youth community center, through a silent auction.
The fashion brands sponsoring and debuting designs for this year are Kilvani Designs, Jersey Virago, Painted Lotus Designs, and, of course, Bryce Rail Couture. The show was hosted by Meiko Parton of Mr. Gay World Washington, who is also listed as a sponsor. The Otter Bar & Burger establishment in Eastlake also sponsored the event.
The first catwalk of the show presented garments by Kilvani Designs, a brand that utilizes body chain jewelry in its products.
into an explosive suplex, or even throwing him through a window. Failing to slow down the doctor, Hidetone was eliminated. Which brings us to the grand finale: Jaboikyran vs. Dr. theJAKEMAN. The Seattleite versus the Californian. In what ended up being a one-sided turn of events, the doctor cleanly swept the first round, then a second, then a third, then a FOURTH!
TheJAKEMAN’s attacks were relentless, never giving Jaboikyran a moment to breathe, and until match point, it seemed like his victory was unstoppable. Yet slowly but surely, Jaboikyran began shifting the momentum of the battle. He started to read the doctor’s moves like an open book. He was side-stepping kicks and escaping grapples that had worked on him before, and he began landing blows he had previously missed. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the game was tied.
One round was left to determine it all.
The tension had the audience on their feet. Recognizing the severity of the match,
both contestants played more defensively. Every sudden trading of blows now elicited gasps from the captivated crowd. In the final moment of play, Jaboikyran perfectly ducked away from a hook and uppercut theJAKEMAN in the jaw, leaving him defenseless against an onslaught he never recovered from. Jaboikyran won the game, three rounds to two. For the second year in a row, the belt was his.
Jaboikyran’s victory at PAX, admittedly, is far from the biggest achievement in the sport. Tekken has been played at EVO, the Super Bowl of fighting tournaments, based in Las Vegas, for nearly 25 years. Still, any player on that stage could tell you that what made this tournament special wasn’t its size and scope. It was its closeness to home. Something your closest friends could afford to come see you perform in.
“It’s like a big family to me, honestly,” said Hidetone. “Just being in a community where people love to compete, and just talk about the game as much as I do, is a huge pleasure.”
Pride Fashion Week 2025: The rundown of the runway
BY ARIN WALLER
Numerous examples of intricately tailored silver chains were draped over entirely black fabrics. The look was dark yet elegant; one can only admire the enigmatic stoicism displayed not only in the designer’s work but also in the body language of the runway models.
The host introduced himself to the crowd in similar Kilvani garb and hosted PFW’s own Mr. Gay Washington competition, complete with an interview with and performance by each of the contestants. Sergei from Russia modeled a burnt-titanium chest piece with ornate spikes resembling olive branches, a look that would later be revealed to be a part of a collection of similar wearable art designed by Bryce Rail Couture in collaboration with Painted Lotus Designs. The next contestant was Bryce Rail himself,
modeling a sparkly pantsuit, high heels, and other jewelry — a commanding presence.
A surprise performance ensued from Miss Pierce County: an amazing saxophone solo. It wouldn’t be a Queer performance without a little drag artistry, which was provided by drag queen and designer Sreya Nerraw.
After the intermission, the second catwalk presented styles from Jersey Virago Designs, which made use of an all-white palette, followed by a switch to a purely red one. The white garments were reminiscent of a wedding, while the red, flowy fabric drew visuals of blood escaping a wound, as if the designer were speaking to the struggles the LGBTQ+ community endured to achieve marriage equality. (The combined black, red, and white color schemes are
often used to offer a chic, European style, evoking an air of drama, mystery, and grace.) This culminated in a design that didn’t follow the two main palettes; instead it was a light pink, with splotches of blue and white.
The third and final catwalk featured the full collection of chest pieces designed by Bryce Rail Couture and Painted Lotus Designs, alluded to earlier by Sergei. Each had its own colors and design aspects that made them unique in some way, but also similar overall. This all made sense at the end of the show, when the host closed with the message that we are all unique but still one in the same: whether you’re Gay, straight, cis, or Trans, we are all human at the end of the day.
CALVIN JAY EMERSON
PHOTOS BY ARIN WALLER
Crowdsurfing, fist pumping, and pro wrestling: The SGN recap of Bumbershoot 2025
BY MADISON JONES
SGN MANAGING EDITOR
Being a journalist nowadays offers very few perks. However, one that still remains is the opportunity to cover music festivals around Seattle.
Enter Bumbershoot 2025: an amalgamation of vendors, food, live music, and entertainment in Seattle Center, put on by New Rising Sun and Third Stone. Despite its reduced size this year, the festival was still able pack a significant punch. By securing headliners the likes of Car Seat Headrest , Aurora, and Janelle Monáe, while also turning audiences on to new and local talent, the organizers showed again how to keep the party going after 53 years in action.
Alongside reporter Nova Berger, the SGN was on a mission last Labor Day weekend to assess the vibes, scour the grounds, jam out among the crowd, and most of all, talk to as many talented people as possible and watch them perform their hearts out!
Performers
First off, the SGN talked to the Brooklynfounded all-women group Say She She. Member Piya Malik recalled the band’s origin: first meeting member Nya Gazelle Brown at a rooftop party and then member Sabrina Mileo Cunningham as neigh-
bors in the same apartment building. Cunningham said that the group derives their songwriting inspiration from discussing the goings-on of their lives together. Brown shared her hopes for the future of inclusivity in music, and spoke to how Say She She, in contrast to current technology in the music industry, prefers using more analog methods for recording their sound in order to “keep the warmth.”
The two women of The Army, The Navy (Maia Ciambriello (Navy) and Sasha Goldberg (Army)) shared with the SGN how they landed on their band name. While on a long road trip from New Orleans to San Francisco, Ciambriello and Goldberg used to spitball potential names, like “Hall and Overnight Oats” and “Lemon Amount.”
Then, when they decided to form their band, they polled their friends on the list they created. Goldberg said that despite only one friend voting for The Army, The Navy, the duo decided to trust their gut instincts and run with it anyway. Goldberg said of it proudly, “I don’t regret it a bit.”
“There are so few women and Nonbinary people in the [music] industry we’ve met, and we try to work with as many as possible,” Goldberg explained. Ciambriello echoed the sentiment, and said the duo
makes it their priority to work with women, Queer, and Nonbinary people in every facet of what they do as a band.
Next, the SGN caught up with UK-based punk band Fat Dog, right after their stage performance. Band members Joe Love, Chris Hughes, and Morgan Wallace all brought a strong, dry sense of humor from across the pond with them to the interview.
The three members riffed with the SGN on topics such as: how UK audiences lack the same level of enthusiasm as their US counterparts, which breed makes the best kind of fat dog, and the age-old US college pastime: the Fratboy Flick.
While in the crowd at Bumbershoot, the SGN came across Ishmael Butler, one of three founding members of the ’90s hiphop trio Digable Planets. He offered his wisdom on creating music while getting older, and what it’s been like touring the country. Butler also spoke to changes in the regionality of music in the era of the internet and social media. When asked whether his relationship and feelings about music had changed over the years, the accomplished artist said, “I think at the core, the fascination and curiosity with music is something that is innate. If you have it, you have it.”
Near Bumbershoot’s end on Sunday, the SGN met with band Vika and the Velvets, all the way from Spokane. Front woman Vika shared the band’s origin story: “We’ve gone through many different rotations of players [and] some of them don’t like us anymore. There’s lots of lore with our history.”
As for how the events of 2025 have informed their creative process, a member spoke to the importance of music as an outlet for people to express their feelings: “With all the bullshit going, why not go to a show and fuck around in a good way?”
A member of the band also discussed an iconic Spokane attraction: the Garbage Goat. Vika gave an apt description: “a silver, aluminum, titanium goat that has been on the loose in Spokane for the last, forever. It eats up your trash, and it gives you a good time.”
But not everyone the SGN interviewed at Bumbershoot 2025 were musicians. Frankie Dove is a performer with SOS Pro Wrestling in Tacoma, which put on a show for the festival titled “SOS Presents: Bumbermania.” On Saturday, Dove told the SGN that when it came to bringing wrestling to a new Seattle audience, “We just want to have fun, and show people the culture.”
FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS CROWDSURFING MADISON JONES
NOVA BERGER WITH MAIA CIAMBRIELLO (NAVY) AND SASHA GOLDBERG (ARMY) OF THE ARMY, THE NAVY. MADISON JONES
All hands on deck! Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance arrives at Seattle Opera!
BY SHARON CUMBERLAND SGN STAFF WRITER
It’s not often that fans of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan get to see their most popular musical, The Pirates of Penzance, performed on the grand stage by professional singers, but this delightful classic will kick off Seattle Opera’s 2025–26 season at McCaw Hall on October 18. A cast of young singers are making their Seattle debuts in a shared production that has received rave reviews at the Glimmerglass Festival, the Atlanta Opera, and the Opera Center of Saint Louis. With its winning combination of memorable music and goofy humor, Seattleites have a chance to see a new production of a great classic, designed to make the audience laugh, clap, and leave
the theater whistling its catchy tunes. The Pirates of Penzance is “light opera” characterized by a comic plot, spoken dialogue, and music performed in English. It’s accessible enough to be performed by high school students with the piano teacher at the keyboard (I was a mustachioed pirate girl myself, in the tenth grade) as well as by community theater groups with local singers and a pick-up orchestra. Many of us are familiar with G&S operettas because the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society has been presenting the full repertoire since 1954 — with special cheers arising whenever Pirates comes around again.
With Seattle Opera presenting a new take
Havoc ensues in Lauren Shippen’s latest dark comedy
BY LINDSEY ANDERSON SGN STAFF WRITER
What if a demon sent to possess a teenage girl showed up 20 years too late? That’s the premise of writer and director Lauren Shippen’s latest project, Two Thousand and Late, a campy, Queer, horror-adjacent podcast series produced by Atypical Artists. Known for her work with thrilling audio dramas, such as The Bright Sessions, Shippen is bringing her quirky feminist rage to Apple Podcasts, with new episodes dropping each week until Halloween.
Two Thousand and Late follows the misadventures of a burnt-out millennial artist who suddenly finds herself possessed by a demon who has just lost track of time. “It arrives and looks around at 2025 America and is like, ‘Oh, you guys are doing a pretty good job already,’” Shippen said, “and so the two of them end up using their demonic forces combined to, well, in the first episode, deal with a street harasser.”
Inspired by classic teenage girl “chosen one” stories and her own “Queer and feminist rage,” Shippen began building the world of Two Thousand and Late in 2020. As a fan of Tom Hardy in Venom, she wondered what it was about the possession
story that specifically required a male protagonist. For fun, she began to brainstorm what the female version might look like, and landed on a 36-year-old woman naturally exhausted by the issues she faces in society.
“What I wanted to explore was the idea of a woman getting to be messy and violent and kind of a loser in the way that Eddie and Venom are losers,” she said. “They’re just total failures. Oftentimes, on screen, we have a strong female lead. We increasingly have wonderfully complex women, but we don’t get to see women on TV and in films or in books who suck. Like, they’re just losers. Harper, the lead character in this, is very much a loser, and that was important to me.”
Naturally, Shippen was faced with the same question that plagues most of society: “But what is so special about a woman in her thirties, anyway?” In other words, why would a demon choose her?
“Well, maybe the demon is also a fuckup?” Shippen said. With that simple idea, she had her story. “It is very much about the fact that our society is becoming more
on an old favorite, audiences have a chance to join regular fans in seeing it performed by a cast of young professionals, most of whom are making their Seattle Opera debuts in this show.
The story of Federic (David Portillo), an apprentice pirate who wants to become respectable, is populated with a Pirate King (Reginald Smith, Jr.); Frederic’s love interest, Mable ( Vanessa Becerra); and a “Modern Major General” (Thomas Glass), who performs the most famous rapid-fire patter song in the opera repertoire. The joke in the title would have been understood at the London premiere in 1879, because Penzance — a quiet little seaside town in Cornwall
—hadn’t seen real pirates since the 17th century, so the chorus of them are the very polite opposite of what you would expect. What better antidote to the dreary news of today than satire? If you’ve never seen this delightfully silly seafaring saga, you owe it to yourself to cheer up and have a good laugh. It’s kids-of-all-ages friendly and 100% guaranteed to bring big grins to faces young and old.
The Pirates of Penzance will be at Seattle Opera from October 18 through November 1, 2025. Call 206-389-7676 for tickets or go to https://www.seattleopera.org/performances-events/the-pirates-of-penzance/
hostile to anybody different, whether that’s because they are Queer or Trans or nonwhite or an immigrant or what have you.”
Shippen has always enjoyed darker stories, particularly those that feature misfits and societal outcasts. “I’m very drawn to
narratives of monstrousness — when a monster is not a monster when you love it,” she said.
As a Queer woman, Shippen finds this affinity for monstrous characters — like Frankenstein — an apt metaphor for soci-
LAUREN SHIPPEN LUKE FONTANA
COURTESY SEATTLE OPERA
ety’s treatment of LGBTQIA+ people.
“Queer love was — and still is — positioned by a lot of society as something unnatural, as something divergent and degenerate,” Shippen said. Much like monsters, Queer people are feared, relegated to hide in the darkness, and often misunderstood or scapegoated by a corrupt society.
Shippen found that Queer love, much like monster stories, requires a form of radical acceptance, of oneself, one’s lover, and one’s community, despite the perception of society. “Loving that person despite — or
even in some cases because of — that monstrousness, [or] loving somebody in a way that society views as monstrous [is] inherently Queer.”
Shippen got her start in writing for audio projects in 2015, though she has also published several novels. While there are many forms a story can take today — from movies to books — she finds something very unique in crafting audio fiction, a medium that is very different from audiobooks.
“Harper is our POV character,” she explained. “We’re with her in every single
scene; we never drift away from her perspective. Then Havoc, the demon that’s possessing her, sometimes speaks out loud, but mostly speaks inside of her head. That’s something that works exceptionally well in audio.” Audio programs also rely on the listener’s imagination in ways other media don’t. Whereas a book might describe the physical characteristics of the demons in Two Thousand and Late, the audio fiction only provides sound effects and voices, allowing the listener to imagine what Havoc might look like. “When the demon
first possesses Harper, we hear that and we hear this scary voice, but we don’t actually see what’s happening. We can infer what exactly is going on, and to me, that’s a lot more fun,” Shippen added.
New episodes are released every Monday evening on Apple Podcasts. A pioneer of the audio fiction platform, Shippen and Atypical Artists have a wide variety of audio comedy and dramas, and also recommend checking out Seattle-based series Metropolis, Dirt , and Soul Operator
Preeminent Indigenous playwright Larissa FastHorse premieres Fancy Dancer at Seattle Rep
BY MIRYAM GORDON
This week the Seattle Rep (with the Seattle Children’s Theatre) will host the world premiere of Fancy Dancer by the Indigenous playwright Larissa FastHorse. The autobiographical play tells the story of young, half-Lakota, half-white Lara, who yearns to be a ballet dancer after seeing famous Indigenous ballerina, Maria Tallchief.
While FastHorse wrote the part for another to portray, she’s getting an opportunity here to perform it herself, allowing her to confirm that the production is as complete as she had hoped.
She’s also “sharing” the role with Burgandi Trejo Phoenix (of Yaqui/Yoeme heritage). Phoenix is not an understudy, FastHorse explained: “Since this production is shared between the Rep and SCT, there are 10 shows a week, and one person couldn’t possibly perform that much.” So FastHorse also gets a chance to see how another actor can portray her life in the way she wishes.
This is an all-ages story. FastHorse said while it started as a children’s tale, it’s “aged up.” “You can bring the whole family,” she said. “I love multigenerational theater where the whole family can share the experience together.”
Dancer to writer
Regarding her career as a dancer, FastHorse noted that she performed “all the things” at that time, like snowflakes and flowers in Balanchine-style choreography, moving later to more prominent roles and “guesting” with a duet partner at various smaller companies. Injuries inevitably led to ending her short but intense career as a hardworking dancer.
“Leaving ballet was devastating,” she said. “You’re so young, and, in ballet, I was old (29-30). You focus everything on dance since you were a kid. It’s your entire identity. Thankfully, there was an organization
to help dancers get ready for the transition.
“I tell a lot of that story of becoming a ballerina in this new play. I don’t want to give it away. Dance informs who I am as a playwright. I often have to fight for movement-based scenes in my plays with producers because they don’t understand what they are.
“Fortunately, in this show, choreographer Price Suddarth [a former principal dancer at Pacific Northwest Ballet] and director Chay Yew understand that beautifully. We’re not pretending you’re not seeing a woman in her fifties. It’s me looking back and dancing my feelings about those moments.”
Pathway to Broadway
FastHorse’s most well-known work (so far) is Thanksgiving Play, in which four white actors devise a play about the holiday, trying so hard to be culturally appropriate and getting it all wrong. In 2023, it
international
First produced in Portland in 2018 by Dámaso Rodríguez, now artistic director of the Rep, Thanksgiving Play has become widely staged. Rodríguez also provided initial funding to support the writing process.
“Those plays helped raise the millions of dollars that it takes to mount a play on Broadway,” FastHorse said. “And after I stop rehearsing this play, I’ll stay in Seattle to write my next Broadway play!
“It’s been amazing to get to know the city. It’s welcoming. … I grew up dreaming of PNB as one of the premier ballet companies in the world. The other thing I love in Seattle is that the Indigenous scene is so strong, with art and events. The Rep is having other programming — pop-ups with
Eighth Generation in the lobby, and events with Tidelands [Native Arts Gallery], and these were already in place. Not because I’m here. It’s been really moving to me!”
Lakota attitudes
Asked if the Lakota tribe has a particular attitude about LGBTQIA+ people, FastHorse said, “It’s more simple and more complicated. People are free to be themselves, and specifically we have ‘two-spirit’ in Lakota culture, and those people are the most sacred, because they possess male and female power. After colonization, that attitude got a bit lost, but it’s been beautiful to see that respected again and [those people] seen as the leaders they should be.
“In 2023, I toured a play [Wicoun, pronounced wih-shoon] that was about … gender identity, about when humans embrace both sides, they become fully themselves, like with superpowers.”
Would FastHorse rather be known just as “a writer,” as opposed to “an Indigenous writer”?
“In the beginning,” she said, “I considered changing my last name to Hogan, my husband’s name, so it doesn’t sound Indigenous, and people could just read my writing and think of it as that. But I realized that it’s a privilege. Only a million people can call themselves Lakota, and we can tell these stories. It has given me more opportunities. It has become my mission. I write about other Indigenous people too, because they trust me to talk about these issues. I’m honored to be known as Native American playwright.”
For more articles and reviews, go to www.facebook.com/SeattleTheaterWriters. Subscribe at https://MiryamsTheaterMusings.blogspot.com
made her the first known female Native American playwright produced on Broadway, at Second Stage Theater. In 2024, Peter Pan: The Broadway Musical, with a new adapted book by FastHorse, began an
tour.
LARISSA FASTHORSE IN FANCY DANCER SAYED ALAMY
LARISSA FASTHORSE IN FANCY DANCER SAYED ALAMY
FILM
2025 SIFF DocFest preview: An interview with Associate Director of Festival Programming Stan Shields
BY SARA MICHELLE FETTERS SGN STAFF WRITER
Independent journalists fight for survival in this era of corporate and billionaire control of the media, coupled with vitriolic political attacks on the press. An Iranian village councilwoman sparks controversy when she urges young women to question patriarchal authority. The victims of a catastrophic psychological gender experiment discover a tragic truth. A plucky and determined flight attendant triumphantly rescues orphaned cats from the streets of Doha, Qatar.
These are just a few of the subjects that will be explored during SIFF’s fifth annual DocFest, a 14-film sojourn into featurelength documentary storytelling, running October 16–23 at SIFF Cinema Uptown, with one special screening at SIFF Downtown on October 19.
For Stan Shields, SIFF’s associate director of festival programming, DocFest is a source of pride. He’s helped lead the programming of the weeklong festival since its birth in 2021. Once again, he’s crafted an eclectic smorgasbord of nonfiction stories from all around the globe for audiences to enjoy.
Here are the edited transcripts of what he had to say in our conversation:
Sara Michelle Fetters: How much fun is it to program a weeklong documentary festival?
Stan Shields: With the main May festival, we receive so many great films, and there’s always that brutal last couple of weeks when I have to go to the documentary committee and say, ‘We have some many wonderful films here, but we can only play a portion of them. You all have to walk out of this meeting sacrificing one of your favorites.’ That’s a tough conversation to have. But DocFest is this opportunity to bring some of those films that missed [SIFF] back to our screens. It is also this great opportunity to showcase films we would not have been able to program back in May, films that are receiving a late-year release or just weren’t available to us earlier in the spring and summer. Films that maybe just premiered at Venice or Toronto, and that’s exciting.
SMF: I think some audiences cringe a little bit when you say the word “documentary.” It’s as if they look at these films as homework. Sure, you’re going to learn something, but documentaries can also be extremely entertaining.
SS: It’s hard for me to grasp and put my head around that, because I love documentaries. I’m looking at them all the time. But I can’t tell you how many times, after a screening, I have someone come up to me and say, “I never knew how cool documentaries are!” That’s a terrific feeling, and that’s why we’re here. It’s what SIFF exists for.
SIFF is here to promote the idea that people can have incredible film discoveries anytime... And with DocFest, it’s an ideal opportunity to dedicate yourself as an audience member to the form. There just aren’t a lot of opportunities to do that. Documentaries can be about anything, and the [number] of subjects we get to cover in just this festival is so impossibly vast.
SMF: It is especially true with DocFest. The array of stories from around the globe you’re able to showcase over the span of a single week is something else.
SS: Absolutely. It’s our primary mission. Every year we try to cover as many topics as possible. Diversity of stories is important to me. Diversity of filmmakers, diversity of culture — this all matters. Seven countries are represented over the course of the 14-film festival this year.
SMF: Outstanding. Just looking at the lineup, you can give your audience an exhilarating case of vertigo with the stunt-filled aerial documentary Space Cowboy, and then take them right into the heart of the war in Ukraine with Love+War. You’ve got food documentaries (Mugaritz: No Bread, No Dessert) coupled with stories focused on gender, identity, and LGBTQ+ equality (A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint, The Secret of Me). And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
SS: I think there are two different lenses
I’m always looking through when I program the festival. The first is: I’m always wanting to focus on two of the words in our organization’s title: “Seattle” and “International.” What are the things that are being discussed here in Seattle, and what are films that can expand our conversation on those topics?
The other question I’m always asking myself when we program is: what are the topics that documentary filmmakers around globe are focusing on right now? What I saw this year is that a lot … are looking at journalism — and more importantly, investigative journalism — in a way that is incredibly timely. They are looking at the state of the press, the state of journalism, and while these films do not necessarily talk about the same thing, I do think you can make the case that they’re in the same room. They rhyme.
SMF: When you find a theme like this, how cognizant are you of not just ringing the same bell over and over? That you’re able to showcase stories that relate to that theme, but from across the spectrum, just not a just on a small sliver of it?
SS: Very. When I’m trying to write a description of a film or attempting to break down what it is about, I tend to ask myself if what I’m writing is repetitive. If it is, I tend not to follow up with a second draft. It’s time to look for other stories.
Last year we ended up with three films that were music docs, and I admit I felt a little guilty about that. But they were all extremely different and unique. They each had their own stories and … unique filmmaking style. They were different enough that… there was nothing repetitive about them. That’s what you aim for, I think, when you find a theme that you want to focus on during the festival.
SMF: We’re in a moment when our ability to talk about certain issues is in danger of being stifled. People are either afraid to talk out in the open, or a vocal, powerful minority is committed to stopping the conversation. That makes
events like DocFest more necessary than ever, doesn’t it?
SS: It’s certainly as necessary as it has ever been. I think that it’s one of the functions of an arts organization, especially an international arts organization: to bring those conversations out into the open. These are the conversations happening in the world right now, and while I can’t force you to take part and engage, I can give you the opportunity to do so if you want to grab it.
SMF: And when those conversations do happen, what do you hope transpires?
SS: One of the guest opportunities we have this year is with the documentary Speak., a film about the national speech and debate championship. The filmmakers are going to be here, and they’re trying to arrange to have some of those students present as well. Those kids are all making speeches about how to change the world. And how to make the world a better place for yourself and for others is, I think, a theme that runs through the entire festival. Those would be great conversations to continue during and after DocFest.
SMF: Where do you see DocFest going next? Will you continue to captain this ship as long as SIFF keeps you at the helm?
SS: This is the fifth DocFest. It was the first thing we did when we reopened our doors after the pandemic. DocFest had been a conversation between [SIFF artistic director] Beth Barrett and me for quite some time, as documentary films have been some of the highest rated, most talked about, and best attended during the primary festival, going back several years. We knew Seattle was hungry for these films and wanted to engage in these conversations, and I think we have been proven right about that.
Doing this festival just seemed like part of our purpose and our mission. I don’t see DocFest going away any time soon, and I plan on being a part of its programming for as long as I can.
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Downton Abbey’s last act a truly grand finale
BY SARA MICHELLE FETTERS SGN STAFF WRITER
DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE Theaters
I doubt that there will be much debate that Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is going to be considered one of 2025’s best films or end up as some sort of awards juggernaut (save maybe for series veteran Anna Robbins’s sumptuous costumes). Not that it matters. This supposed last entry in the film trilogy of the popular franchise is marvelously entertaining. I smiled, I laughed, and I maybe even wiped away a couple of tears, and that’s exactly as it should be.
Set during the final days of summer 1930, the core of this journey to Downton revolves around Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) realizing he must follow through on his commitment to turn over sole leadership of the family estate to his daughter Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery). This is a continuation of a major subplot of the prior feature, Downton Abbey: A New Era, and it’s nice that writer Julian Fellowes and director Simon Cur-
tis are confidently determined to pay it off here.
That they do this with professionalism and subtle restraint is hardly surprising. That they also manage it with a level of accessible emotional authenticity somewhat is. This has always been a very British enterprise, and the cultural stiff-upper-lip of it all can be obnoxious. Yet, Fellowes has always adored these characters ever since he first brought them to life back in 2010. Better than that, he treasures his audience too, refusing to condescend to them while continually treating viewers with intelligence and respect.
The only real issue is how many additional subplots have been crammed into an otherwise economically paced 123 minutes. It’s as if Fellowes couldn’t stop himself. There’s Lady Mary dealing with the societal repercussions of her divorce, Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern) discovering her ne’er-do-well brother Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti) has ineptly squandered the American portion of the family fortune, head butler Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) officially retiring (again, but
The History of Sound: A Queer romance that resonates beyond words
BY FRANK GAIMARI
THE HISTORY OF SOUND AMC, Regal Cinemas
Director Oliver Hermanus makes a bold statement from the very first frame of The History of Sound. The opening credits unfold in complete silence — a striking choice that immediately draws the viewer in. This moment sets the tone for a film in which sound — or the absence of it — holds as much meaning as the visuals. It’s a deliberate and decisive decision, inviting the audience to feel the weight and significance of sound from the very start.
Adapted from Ben Shattuck’s acclaimed short story, the film seamlessly expands on its literary roots. Hermanus enriches the narrative with cinematic depth, capturing the core themes of love, memory, and the transformative power of sound in a way that feels faithful and profoundly moving.
The narrative unfolds in 1917, when Lionel (Paul Mescal) and David (Josh O’Connor) meet as music students at the New England Conservatory. From the start, there’s an undeniable pull between them. Lionel, a farm boy from Kentucky with
the rare ability to “see” music through his synesthesia, is captivated by David’s confidence and worldly charm. David, in turn, is drawn to Lionel’s quiet brilliance. When David proposes a journey through rural Maine to record folk songs, Lionel doesn’t think twice — he’s ready to follow.
What unfolds is a quiet, deeply moving journey through snow-covered towns and the lives of everyday people. As they record the voices and songs of strangers, something even more profound begins to take shape between them. Their relationship grows in the spaces between words, in the shared glances and unspoken moments.
Mescal delivers a remarkable performance as Lionel, effortlessly capturing the essence of the era through Lionel’s looks, wardrobe, and mannerisms. His rendition of “Silver Dagger” is especially mesmerizing, showcasing his depth as an actor. This portrayal firmly cements Mescal’s place among the greatest talents of our time. Mark my words: an Oscar nomination for this role is inevitable.
O’Connor, meanwhile, brings a quiet depth to David, playing him as someone
this time for good), Daisy Parker (Sophie McShera) taking over as Downton’s cook, actor Guy Dexter (Dominic West) making a marquee name for himself in the latest hit by Noel Coward (Arty Froushan) while happily carrying on a clandestine relationship with his beloved dresser Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier), and Lady Merton (Penelope Wilton) eagerly stepping into the shoes once filled by her late best friend Violet Crawley as president of the county fair.
It’s a lot, and it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Fellowes and Curtis aren’t always able to successfully juggle it all. The storyline involving Lady Grantham, Harold, and his mysterious benefactor Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola) is particularly messy, and its eventual, oddly quick resolution only matters thanks to the multifaceted performances of the three stars, especially McGovern’s. The opening, London-set section of the film is annoyingly disjointed, and it isn’t until the majority of the cast ends up back in the familiar confines of Downton and its surrounding cottages that things begin to find solidly engaging footing.
But this ensemble knows what they are doing. They are all excellent, every single one of them, and Dockery, Bonneville, and Carter most of all. The familiar refrains of John Lunn’s lavish score are perfectly utilized, cinematographer Ben Smithard shoots with colorfully lived-in ebullience, and production designer Donal Woods has once again outdone himself. Every facet is beyond reproach, and other than some rather wonky digital trickery near the end, I can’t think of any technical aspect I’d want to complain about.
Then there are the last few moments. Lady Mary, with a comfortingly knowing smile and a penetrating gaze, serves as a bridge to the past and the gateway to the future, and this makes all the more rapturous her remembrances of all it’s taken for everyone who has ever stepped foot in Downton — and I do mean everyone — to make the place what it has become. As last acts are concerned, few are as proudly euphoric as this one, all of which makes this closing chapter of Downton Abbey a truly grand finale.
who seems self-assured on the surface but whose inner struggles simmer just beneath.
O’Connor’s ability to convey so much with the smallest gestures — a pause, a glance, a slight shift in tone — is nothing short of masterful. His performance is award-winning, too.
The film’s narrative unfolds with a deliberate, artful obscurity, gradually revealing its intricacies. It demands active engagement from the viewer, rewarding close attention as the pieces of the puzzle slowly fall into place. The eventual revelation of the complete picture is both breathtaking and profoundly unsettling.
Visually, the film is a feast for the senses. The cinematography captures the smallest details with a quiet beauty. And the folk
songs they record are woven into the fabric of the story, becoming as essential as the characters themselves.
The History of Sound isn’t just a film — it’s a meditation on love, memory, and the way music can preserve the essence of a moment. Mescal and O’Connor deliver performances that feel like lightning in a bottle, and their connection is the soul of this story. This film will win many awards. Treat yourself and watch it on the big screen!
Frank Gaimari is an author and film reviewer in Seattle. He lives with his husband and their two golden retrievers. Learn more about his work at www.FranksFilmReview.com.
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COURTESY THE HISTORY OF SOUND
BOOKS
Preserving historical Queer love: A conversation with the Gay authors of Loving II
BY MADISON JONES
EDITOR
In 2020, NYC-based Gay couple Neal Treadwell and Hugh Nini released Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s-1950s. As the first-known published collection of historical photographs depicting Gay couples, it received much acclaim globally.
Embarking again upon a labor of love and having collected more historical photographs around the US, the pair will follow this up with Loving II: More Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s-1950s, which comes out October 14.
In preparation for this release, they agreed to answer some questions about the new book and their creative process with the SGN.
Madison Jones: There is an old adage that says: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” How do you both feel about this sentiment, and in terms of the new book, does it hold true?
Hugh Nini: The old adage “a picture paints a thousand words” endures because it’s true, doesn’t it? When we found our first photo in the year 2000, it said so many things to us. It said, “You were never alone, we paved the way for you, we mattered to one another, and we wanted you to know that.” It said, “We’ve always been here and we’ve always loved each other.” It said, “We’ve cleared a path for you” and so, so, much more.
We’ll be the first to admit that when we first published Loving in 2020, even we didn’t understand all of the words and messages contained in these photographs. Every day we receive messages from people who tell us what our books say to them. Or as you put it, the thousand words that tell the millions of stories of who these couples were and what they mean today. It has been a process of discovery for us too.
Regarding our new book, it continues, and broadens, the message of our first, that of romantic love between two men during the hundred-year period between the 1850s and 1950s.
MJ: It has been five years since you both released Loving. What inspired you both to release another edition, and was the process of creating the new book in any way different from the first?
HN: There was always talk of a second
book since we published our first in 2020. It was supposed to launch in 2021, then ‘22, then ‘23, and then ‘24. We had to hold off because the first Loving was still doing well and our publisher warned us that going too soon with a second would “step on it.”
The inspiration for publishing Loving II came from the same source as our first book: the couples in our photographs. They all want and deserve a voice. But with over 4,000 photographs, it’s not likely we’ll be able to hear from everyone. With a second book, though, we can at least present another 300+ images.
The photos in book two are as emotional as those in our first Loving — in some cases more. We had great anxiety over whether or not it was possible to publish a second book that would be as powerful as our first. Now that it’s done, at least to us, it seems at least as powerful as the first. Possibly more.
The double page on pages 174–175 is breathtaking. It shows two teenaged boys kissing in front of their school with other
students looking on, smiling and clapping. It was taken on May 29, 1923.
As for the creative process for Loving II, it was slightly different than with Loving I With our first book, we were determined to keep the message of our collection laserfocused: that of romantic love between two men. We didn’t want to deviate, even slightly, out of concern for the message of our collection getting confused.
With Loving II, we deviated, slightly. In our new book, we present a few images that are romantic but also a little sexual. Or “frisky,” as we like to call them. Another deviation is couples who hid their faces [out of] concern for their safety. Another is photographs where one or both of the men present as female. Our Trans brothers and sisters are topics of intense debate today, much like Gay people have been for the last 50-plus years. But no one has really referred to them as having been around since the 1860s, as our collection demonstrates.
The last deviation we made was to include
inscriptions on either the front or back of some photographs. One that comes to mind is on the back of a photo taken around 1910. It reads: “Dandy Uncle Declan and his boy homosexual.” It was obviously taken by a relative of Declan who recognized him as one half of a relationship. The word “homosexual” was the available term he or she had for what his lover was. It comes off as completely nonoffensive.
One inscription that we wanted to include but didn’t had alterations of the faces in the photograph (devil horns and goatees), and writing on the back that demonstrated a very unhappy breakup. It’s so interesting, because breakups are part of the story of some relationships, but we didn’t want to break the romantic spell of the rest of the book. But who knows? Like us, they might have gotten back together. We’ll probably take that one to our speaking engagements!
MJ: In a documentary [on your website], it mentions you both found your first photo of a male couple at an antique mall in Dallas. As Texan transplants in New York City, do you visit back home often? And is there anything you miss about living in Dallas and the LGBTQ+ community there?
HN: We were together on that trip to the antique mall in Dallas, but it was actually Neal who found that first photo there, jumbled in a box of otherwise nondescript photos.
We absolutely love our lives here in NYC, but we do miss our home in Dallas, and we still have tons of friends there, as well as our families. So, yes, we do go back as often as possible. We were in Houston just last month, visiting our 96 year-old mother/ mother-in-law and a sibling. And we had a wonderful home in Dallas that we’ll never finish grieving. When we’re in town we always drive by it.
Having both been born and raised in Texas, we left a lot behind to move here. Our ties to Texas are deep and will remain forever, even though its politics have drifted further and further away from us.
MJ: These last few years, there has been a movement to ban LGBTQ+ books in schools and libraries across the country. Why do you both think people react so strongly when confronted with such history and stories?
SGN MANAGING
COURTESY LOVING II
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HN: It hasn’t just been the last few years, unfortunately, although it certainly has ticked up recently, and that can be directly linked to the Christian nationalist movement’s increasing influence with the Trump administration.
When we lived in Dallas, we belonged to a wonderful nondenominational Christian church, Cathedral of Hope, for 18 years until we moved to NYC. It also happened to be the largest, predominantly LGBTQ+ church in the world, with a membership that numbers in the thousands. It embraced the teachings of Jesus: love, kindness, helping the poor, loving and caring for the sick, treating others as you would have them treat you, that we are all equal in God’s eyes, and more.
In the aggregate, though, opposition to LGBTQ+ people has always had its roots in mainline religion first and politics second. There are great churches here and there, like ours in Dallas, that don’t embrace this hatred, as well as an entire political party that doesn’t. But there is another side who funds and populates a
vast faction that we call the “anti-LGBTQ+ industrial complex,” who essentially recognize only one book. Guess which one... And they want to destroy everything, including books, that they see as being in conflict with their one book. This kind of hateful religiosity is holding the world back and causing a lot of suffering, in particular for us.
So, yes, they ban books, burn books, but worse, they shun and exile their own children, the children that they are supposed to be protecting and caring for. LGBTQ+ people are born to everyone, including homophobes, sadly. They choose their book, which they altered in the 1940s to add homophobic passages that weren’t there before, over their own children. It’s heartbreaking.
MJ: Final question: If you both could go back in time and meet some of the male couples in these photographs, what would you say to them? And vice versa: what do you think they’d say if they traveled to our current day?
Elizabeth Earley explores the fear of death in new essay collection
BY LINDSEY ANDERSON SGN STAFF WRITER
Since the dawn of time, death has been regarded as the most taboo of topics, the root of many irrational fears. Humans often push the idea of death to the fringes of our minds, especially in Western cultures. However, for writer and clinical research scientist Elizabeth Earley, this topic contains multitudes as vast as the human experience. The more she studied the history and science of mortality, the more she found an underlying beauty, which inspired her latest work, Little Deaths All in a Row, a collection of prose diving deep into death.
“[Mortality has] always fascinated me, just on an intellectual level,” Earley said to the SGN. “But then I had a brush with death of my own, and I was terrified.”
Earley experienced a near-fatal motorcycle accident. She retained her consciousness after the collision but began to panic as she realized her body was dying. Though she survived the wreck, she didn’t walk away with a newfound peace with mortality; in fact, she felt the opposite. “I did realize something important, which is that I do not want to panic the next time I meet death,” she said.
Realizing death is the inevitable end for us all, Earley decided to face her fear. “I believe the best way to get over fearing something is just to get closer to it and more intimate with it, so that’s what I did,” she said. She began volunteering in a hospice program as a form of exposure therapy.
“It did not alleviate my fear of death,” she admitted. “I still have a terrible fear of death. So much so that I can almost go into a panic attack just thinking about it, just the visceral acknowledgment of my own mortality.”
“What [volunteering] did do was a lot of other surprising things, and I got so many gifts out of that experience,” she added. “I didn’t know that I had a fear of love, and this volunteering for hospice helped me overcome [that].”
Healthy coping
While hospice didn’t help Earley banish her fear of death, she found that researching the topic and writing about her findings provided her with a healthy way to cope. “Immersing myself in the work of these essays was so necessary for processing all of this material,” she said. “In fact, how did I manage my mental and emotional health without writing these essays?
HN: We actually addressed the latter part of your question at our exhibition at the Rath Museum in Switzerland in 2023. We spoke at the opening to a wall-to-wall crowd that was filled with every kind of face you can imagine: LGBTQ+, straight, children, all races, everyone.
As for what we said, it went something like this: “Standing here today at this museum opening, we can’t help but imagine that all of these beautiful men are looking down on us from above in wonderment, and thinking, or saying to one another, ‘My God... Who would have ever thought that the little photograph that we took of ourselves, and then kept hidden for its very survival, would end up as an exhibition in a prominent museum — and that people would be weeping over it?’ And the force of goodness might have replied, ‘I knew. But I never told you because you would have never believed me.’”
As for what we would say to these men, these couples, if we could go back in time? It’s simple. “It gets better. We will always need to fight, but it gets better.”
Loving II: More Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s-1950s comes out on October 14.
That’s the question I would have.”
The alleviation of Earley’s fears did not come from her finding the answers to life’s most pressing questions about death — instead, it came from her conclusion that one cannot find answers on such a topic.
“The research I did raised more questions instead of giving me any answers,” she said. “It made the whole idea just way more mysterious and unknowable. I think that’s what makes it so frightening.”
The more information she gathered, the more she realized that the bounds of the human condition limited her. “It’s not possible to know. It’s not fathomable from where I sit,” she said. “That’s frustrating to me, because I like information. Information and knowledge make me feel calm. Research is my coping mechanism when I’m in emotional pain.”
Spirituality
When met with scientific dead ends, Earley’s research led her toward spirituality. Little Deaths All in a Row is a unique take on death, as Earley’s prose combines both her in-depth scientific research and her exploration of different cultural understandings of the topic. Though some may argue that science and spirituality exist as diametrical opposites, Earley sees them coexisting on a spectrum. “Anything is possible, and I’m pretty open to what that is,” she said. “What happens to consciousness after we die? Where does it go? Does it stay?”
For the answers to these questions, Earley delved into spiritual and religious texts. She regarded The Tibetan Book of the Dead as “the most accurate hypothesis about what happens after we die,” particularly for its concept of the Bardo (the transitional state between any two states of being). This dreamlike place combines angelic and demonic entities for our spirits to encounter. “It feels a little creepy and spooky, but otherwise normal,” she said. Throughout her research, Earley came to her own conclusions about death and the beyond. Though her strongest belief is that she will never honestly know, she hypothesizes a sort of reincarnation similar to the journey the Buddhists believe the soul takes after its time in the Bardo. “Energy can’t be created or destroyed. It just changes form. Our bodies are created and destroyed, but the energy that animates our bodies isn’t,” she said. “So what I believe — what I think, what I hope —
happens after we die… and there is some scientific proof for this, is that we experience a tremendous amount of pleasure.”
In Earley’s essay “Bright Brain,” she synthesizes the research she’s done into the physical sensations of death and hypothesizes that it may feel like an intense orgasm. According to scans of human brains, intense orgasms — the kind only experienced by people with vulvas — cause the entire brain to light up. This same phenomenon happens to the human brain as it dies. “This bright-brain phenomenon makes me think that it has to do with an ecstatic state, a very pleasurable state we are delivered through into whatever is next, and that is exciting to me,” she said. “I can’t wait to experience that part.”
Hope
The final part of Earley’s theory reflects the final tone of Little Deaths: a sense of hope. At the beginning of her journey, Earley discovered that her fear of mortality was extrinsically linked to a fear of love. At the root of it, the very human aversion to death is a fear less of pain or the unknown beyond but that whatever happens next will sever the ties we hold with those we love the most. The allure of faith for so many is the promise that those we love in life will be reunited with us once again in death. Despite a lack of scientific evidence on this aspect of death, Earley clings to a sliver of hope that love can outlast death.
“I hope that we do go on as a consciousness, as an entity of self, where the connections that we have with other energies and entities, we can keep and reunite with them on the other side. That’s what I
hope,” she said.
Little Deaths All in a Row is a fascinating read that provides audiences with fresh perspectives on a frightening topic. Earley hopes readers can find “inspiration to go closer to what scares you and to sit with the pain and to work with the pain instead of running from it.”
Despite the nature of her topic, Earley’s book emphasizes hope and encourages readers to embrace joy in life, just as she does. “I’m prone to worry, I’m prone to anxiety, I’m prone to fear. But that is no way to live. I have, for all I know, this one life — definitely only this one life as me, Elizabeth Earley, as this body, as this incarnation. So I don’t want to waste that by being pessimistic, afraid, negative, and miserable. I would rather look at the whole broken, beautiful world and everything that it contains and find the hope and joy and spread that.”
COURTESY LOVING II
ELIZABETH EARLEY NICOLE ROBERTS
COURTESY ELIZABETH EARLEY
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Fancy Dancer
Date: Wednesday, October 1-31
Time: 7:30-9 p.m.
Venue: Seattle Rep, 155 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA
"Good Luck, Babe!"Chappell Roan | One-Day Choir
Date: Wednesday, October 1
Time: 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Venue: Washington Hall 153 14th Avenue, Seattle, WA
Stage of Fools
Date: Wednesday, October 1-30
Time: 7:30-9:20 p.m.
Venue: Seattle Public Theater, 7312 West Green Lake Dr N, Seattle, WA
Admissions: $10.00 - $100.00
Trans Art program series at the Lake City Library
Date: Thursday, October 2-23
Time: 5:30-7 p.m.
Venue: Lake City BranchThe Seattle Public Library, 12501 28th Ave NE, Seattle, WA
Admissions: Free
Le Faux
Date: Friday, October 3-18
Time: 7-8:30 p.m.
Venue: Julia's on Broadway, 300 Broadway E, Seattle, WA Doors: 6pm | Show: 7pm
Queer Creator Hangout
Date: Friday, October 3
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Venue: Stoup Brewing, 903 E Union St, Seattle, WA
Rocky Horror Improv Show
Date: Friday, October 3
Time: 11:30 p.m.
Venue: Unexpected Productions, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle, WA
Volunteer with PFLAG at Issaquah Salmon Days
Date: Saturday, October 4
Time: 10 a.m.
Venue: Sunset Way and Front St, Issaquah WA, 2 E Sunset Way,
Queer Cinema: Boys on the Inside + The Chair Show, Pictures in Progress
Date: Sunday, October 5
Time: 3-4 p.m.
Venue: Capitol Hill BranchThe Seattle Public Library, 425 Harvard Avenue East, Seattle, WA
EMBODIED ALTARS DANCE
CLASS
Date: Monday, October 6-27
Time: 6:30-9 p.m.
Venue: Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, 5011 Bernie Whitebear Way, Seattle, WA Sliding Scale: $10-$20* per class.
The Gay Agenda: A Queer Songwriter Showcase at Spanish Ballroom
Date: Wednesday, October 8
Time: 6 p.m.
Venue: McMenamins Elks Temple, 565 Broadway, Tacoma, WA
$12.23 advance or $17.79 day of show
SPD LGBTQ+ Community Advisory Council
Date: Wednesday, October 8
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Venue: 1620 12th Ave (12th Ave Arts building 2nd floor, Seattle
Clock-Out Lounge Presents: TUSH!
Date: Thursday, October 9-31
Time: 9 p.m.
Venue: Clock-Out Lounge, 4864 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA
Drag Bingo: Michael Florentino
SODO for GSBA Scholarship!
Date: Thursday, October 9
Time: 6:30-8 p.m.
Venue: Michael Florentino Cellars, 3861 1st ave s Suite A, Seattle, WA
FOXCULT - Watercolors Experience
Date: Friday, October 10
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Substation, 645 NW 45th St, Seattle, WA
RuPaul's Tina Burner's Witch Perfect
Date: Friday, October 10
Time: 8 p.m.
Venue: Rialto Theater, 310 South 9th Street, Tacoma, WA
Atsuko Okatsuka: The Big Bowl Tour
Date: Saturday, October 11-12
Time: 4 p.m.
Venue: Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle, WA
Admissions: $83.84
Figure It Out - Queer Figure Drawing
Date: Tuesday, October 14
Time: 6-10 p.m.
Venue: Vermillion Art Gallery & Bar, 1508 11th Ave, Seattle, WA
GSBA & OMWBE LGBTBE Workshop
Date: Tuesday, October 14
Time: 10-11:30 a.m.
Venue: 221 1st Ave W, Seattle, WA
RuPaul's Drag Race Werq The World Tour 2025
Date: Tuesday, October 14
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St, Seattle, WA
SIFF DocFest
Date: Thursday, October 16-23
Time: 12 p.m.
Venue: SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle, WA
Admissions: $15.00 - $25.00
GRINDHAUS with Bosco, Alaska 5000, Irene The Alien, & Mistress Isabelle Brooks
Date: Friday, October 17-18
Time: 10:30 p.m.
Venue: The Crocodile, 2505 1st Ave, Seattle, WA Admissions: $79.91
Lesbian Chronicles LIVE
Date: Friday, October 17-18
Time: 4-11 p.m.
Venue: Reverie Ballroom, 915 E Pine St, Seattle, WA
Festal: Diwali - Lights of India
Date: Saturday, October 18
Venue: Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA
Pirates Of Penzance w/ Seattle Opera
Date: Saturday, October 18-29
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA
Seattle No Kings 2.0 March & Rally
Date: Saturday, October 18
Time: 12-2 p.m.
Venue: 1709 Broadway E, 1803 Broadway E, Seattle, WA
ROB ANDERSON: ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE 90's?
Date: Monday, October 20-21
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: The Crocodile, 2505 1st Ave, Seattle, WA
Admissions: $347.15
Social Scramble - LGBTQ+ Edition
Date: Monday, October 20
Time: 5 p.m.
Venue: Green Lake Pitch & Putt, 5701 East Green Lake Way N,
Genuine Hustle Seattle 2025
Date: Tuesday, October 21
Time: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Venue: THE 101 101 South Jackson Street, THE 101, Seattle, WA
Admissions: $40.00
Fall Drag Queen Bingo
Date: Friday, October 24
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Venue: The Cove (Miller and Walker Creeks), 1500 Southwest Shorebrook Drive, Normandy Park, WA
Israel Palestine On Swedish TV 1958-1989 [In-Person Only]
Date: Saturday, October 25-26
Time: 1:30-5:30 p.m.
Venue: Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, Seattle, WA
Admissions: $15 General $10 Student/ Child/Senior $7 NWFF Member
BUTT TOOT KING (of RuPaul's Drag Race)
Date: Thursday, October 30
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: The Showbox, 1426 1st Ave., Seattle, WA
DUNGEONS & DRAG QUEENSHalloween Edition
Date: Friday, October 31
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: The Crocodile, 2505 1st Ave, Seattle, WA
Queer Contra Dance Camp Roadtrip: Vashon
Date: Friday, October 31
Time: 6 p.m.
Venue: Camp Sealth, 14500 SW Camp Sealth Rd, Vashon, WA